Why USF football coach Alex Golesh welcomed 48 new U.S. citizens Friday

TAMPA — When USF football coach Alex Golesh looked at a crowd 10 rows deep at the Bulls’ indoor practice facility Friday morning, he saw something he knows well.

The pride and joy of becoming a U.S. citizen.

“It was, like, an hour of non-stop smiles and excitement,” Golesh said.

Not just for the 48 immigrants from 28 different countries who were sworn in during the naturalization ceremony. For him, too.

Golesh was born in Moscow and immigrated to New York when he was 7. He and his family of four brought $100 each. Golesh dreamed of eating McDonald’s and bananas — two things he loved but were hard to come by in the Soviet Union.

Life in America wasn’t all Big Macs and Shamrock Shakes. Both parents worked odd jobs over the years. Driving trucks. Delivering pizzas. Cleaning houses. Running a warehouse.

Golesh didn’t think about it until he graduated college, but what he saw from his parents stuck with him.

“All they ever did was just work,” Golesh said.

So that’s what he did, too, grinding his way from a high school defensive line coach to the head coach at a growing program rich in potential.

“I don’t think it probably really hit me until I got introduced here as the head coach, coaching American football, what really the American dream is,” Golesh said. “Put your head down and go work.”

Golesh could have spent Friday morning doing that. His sport and profession have, arguably, never experienced this much upheaval at one time. The transfer portal remains open. Recruiting and fundraising never stop.

But he chose to spend the time with people from all over the world — Bangladesh and Vietnam, Iraq and Canada, Latvia and, yes, Golesh’s home country of Russia. He spoke to the crowd of men and women of all ages and ethnicities for a few minutes, sharing his story and congratulations. He stuck around long enough to pose for pictures with each one and teach them the Bulls’ hand symbol.

The judge presiding over the ceremony, Anthony Porcelli, called Golesh “the embodiment of the American spirit.” Golesh called the experience humbling. Maybe a little nostalgic, too.

The event reminded Golesh of the first naturalization ceremony he attended, sometime in the late ‘90s. The scene at that Brooklyn courthouse wasn’t festive. There were no refreshments like the ones served at USF. No multimillionaire football coaches spoke, either.

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Golesh just remembers his parents taking the oath, then telling him they were officially Americans. As the children of naturalized citizens, Golesh and his brother were, too. A day or two later, they all got their U.S. passports. They could go anywhere they wanted.

“Not that we did,” Golesh said.

But they could. They were U.S. citizens, with all the rights and responsibilities and privileges that come with it.

Honors four dozen men and women now know, with a little nod from Golesh.

“(We’re) truly living in the greatest country in the world,” Golesh said, “where no matter what anybody says, you can do whatever you want if you just work your tail off.”

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