Palczewski: First Generation Football Player
November 11, 2018 | Football
by Logan Hanson
FightingIllini.com
When one sees Illini sophomore right tackle Alex Palczewski on the football field, a few ideas may jump to one's mind. First his size towering at 6-6 and weighing in at 300 pounds. Another may observe the mustache resting atop his upper lip that he has sported throughout the season. Palczewski looks like a football player in every sense of the word. The only thing people probably wouldn't know about Alex Palczewski is that him being a football player was not on the radar for his parents.
Palczewski's parents, Andrzej and Bozena Palczewski, came to Illinois from Poland making Alex and his two older brothers Adam and Alan first generation Americans. For the Palczewski parents, the announcement of playing American football was a surprise but they made sure their boys focus was on school.
"It was very different, I always played soccer but my older brother Adam started playing football his sophomore year," said Palczewski. "At that point I was in fourth grade and I was like 'wow this is really cool.' My parents didn't really care what sport we played as long as we took care of school, that's all they cared about."
Another surprise came for the Palczewski parents: Alex's recruitment. For Palczewski it was an exciting experience for both him and his family.
"It was very surprising because first off my parents didn't think there was really a future in that like only the best of the best get recruited," said Palczewski. "When I got my first offer from Virginia Military Institute and I was just screaming on the way home I was so excited and I told my parents and they were so excited. They were very happy when they found out and the whole recruiting was awesome."
Although the Palczewski family in the United States got acclimated to their son's new sport, the rest of the family in Poland was not able to get used to the sport. In fact, during Palczewski's last visit to Poland the family was quite surprised to see the footballs they brought with them.
"Here everyone knows what football is you just look at the stadium and you can see how popular it is and over there they don't even know what a football looks like," said Palczewski. "We brought a few Illinois memorabilia footballs over special and their like 'What is this? What sport is this?'"
During his most recent trip this June, Palczewski spent about three weeks in Poland with his family. For Palczewski, it was his first time back in Poland since he was nine years old and it was a memorable trip for him and his parents.
"I've only been there three times in my life, but it was awesome because I got to see everything and I'll remember everything now," said Palczewski. "It was just me and my parents that went. We spent half the time with my mom's side for about half and then stayed with my dad's side for a bit so we just rented out a car and drove all over Poland for those three weeks."
The highlight for Palczewski was being able to better understand his family line and learning more about his roots.
"I remember those people from the last time I went but I really didn't know how I was related to them at all. I got to learn everything about who I was related to and got to see a whole family tree. It was just awesome to see all of that."
The Palczewskis are a supportive group even though they may not fully understand the sport just yet. In fact, the only games they haven't been to have been last year's game against South Florida and this year's matchup against Rutgers.
"The try to come to almost every single game," said Palczewski, "It took them a while to get used to it. My dad really understands the sport now but my mom still is kind of confused so my dad always has to help explain it to her."
Although they may be walking through the uncharted water that is Division I college football, the Palczewski parents have been able to enjoy every experience along the way.
"They were very excited. They were like 'Wow'," said Palczewski. "They got to travel to all these different away stadiums like last year when we played Ohio State they went to that game and they loved it. They always tailgate with the Bobaks, they're another Polish family, so they feel at home with them. A lot of kielbasas."
For Palczewski, he loved the way he was raised and wouldn't trade it for anything.
"I'm happy. I love how I grew up, the culture and the food especially," said Palczewski. "I absolutely love how I grew up. It makes me who I am today."
That person today is a starting right tackle for the University of Illinois football team. Though the Palczewski parents may not have been expecting this outcome when they arrived in the United States, they certainly wouldn't trade it for anything either.
