You can read this exclusive content thanks to the FALATH & PARTNERS law firm, which assists American people with Slovak roots in obtaining Slovak citizenship and reconnecting them with the land of their ancestors.

There are some popular sports that Slovak athletes excel in - Peter Sagan in cycling, Petra Vlhová in skiing, and of course ice hockey and football (soccer) are popular here. Most sports Slovaks have gone to the Olympics in are rather niche, however, like canoe slalom. Of the Olympic sports Slovakia has taken part in, it sits at the top when it comes to medals earned.

So you could be forgiven for not knowing that, fittingly niche, some Slovaks love American football and even lacrosse.

The latter sport, often called the "fastest game on two feet", is going to be an Olympic sport in 2028 and it is Slovak-American Gregory Tears' dream that Slovakia will qualify for the event.

"For me, lacrosse opened a lot of doors in my life. It allowed me to go to Harvard, travel the world. So for me, it's an opportunity to give back and help the next generation have that opportunity," Tears tells The Slovak Spectator, adding that he wants others to have the same opportunities he was fortunate to have.

That is why he wants to help develop lacrosse in Slovakia and has already reached out to the Slovak Lacrosse Federation (SLF). Although the sport is in its developmental stage in the country, it has great potential.

"I'm really excited about that," he says.

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A lost opportunity

Tears says that growing up, he always knew he had Slovak ancestry. He actually knew his great-grandfather who came over to the US in 1904 from the village of Porúbka in eastern Slovakia.

"He died when I was about five. I remember he used to babysit me when I was very little, and I spent time with him before he passed away. He was my only real Slovak connection. I never met my great-grandmother, she passed away before I was born," he recounts, adding that everyone assumes that his great-grandparents knew each other and were married in Slovakia. But that is not how it went.

"My great-grandfather had married, but his prior wife passed away. So in 1922 someone sent a letter to his village asking for someone who could take care of his kids. And my great-grandmother, who was from the neighbouring village of Koromla, then got on a ship in France and three weeks later she landed in New York and another three weeks later she married him," Tears explains, adding that they went on to have five kids, one of which was his grandmother.

"And the rest is history."

Tears admits that as an American, the concept of packing up and going to another country just like that sounds crazy, though in a good way, especially in light of not knowing the language, culture, or what she was getting into.

His grandmother also spoke Slovak and his mother understood the language; both women spoke it all the time when they were together. However, his mother didn't speak it with her own children.

He believes the reason was because his parents wanted their kids to grow up as American citizens. Moreover, in the 1950s and 60s, Czechoslovakia was a communist country and people didn't want to be accused of being communist, so they rather chose to assimilate.

"It was a real lost opportunity for us to grow up as bilingual Slovak Americans who could speak both languages. Nowadays in the US, the trend is to be bilingual, get in touch with your roots, learn about your heritage and connect to it."

Traditions to be proud of

When the Slovak law on citizenship changed in 2022, it was an opportunity for Tears to connect with his roots again, allowing for what he calls 'a full circle moment'.

"I grew up Greek Catholic and have done a lot of the traditions and holidays my entire life. My mum used to make her own cheese, bake her own bread, kapustnica. People didn't really understand what my family was doing, especially around Easter time, why were there all these baskets and processions. I'm still proud of it. It's a unique thing for me."

His great uncle, who was Slovak, was a cook in the US Navy in World War II. He would bake orechovník and when Tears and his family visited him, he would serve it with coffee. Orechovník is not generally available in the US, but there is a bakery in Ohio that makes traditional Slovak and Czech desserts. Tears gets the cake from the bakery.

"I put it in my freezer. When my uncle passed away in December, I brought one for the reception. We sat around and had coffee with it, which was really nice," he says.

Tears has a brother and sister who may go down the Slovak citizenship path at some point, but not now. However, his sister is trying to learn how to cook some of the traditional meals from a cookbook their mum left behind in an attempt to keep up some of the traditions their mum did for so many years for them.

"I think they're waiting to see what happens with me. Like, you take the leap and we'll see how it goes," he adds. "I always wanted to potentially be a dual citizen. This gives me the ability to live and work in the US and living and working in Slovakia may soon be an option. That's really appealing to me."

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An opportunity to give back

Growing up in the US, Tears was a lacrosse player. In researching dual citizenship, he learned about Slovakia having a lacrosse program, although it is in the developmental stages.

"I reached out to them, explained who I was and they welcomed me in with open arms and I became the director of international recruiting. I have several prospects, very good American players with Slovak heritage who are going to go through the citizenship process as well," he says.

The goal is to improve the team and grow the sport in Slovakia. The sport has already brought Tears to the country. While in Bratislava he had an opportunity to spend a day at a local school with members of the Slovak national team and help teach local children about lacrosse. According to him, it was fantastic to see the kids excited about the sport.

Their goal is to build the next generation of players, as right now the player pool in Slovakia numbers only a few dozen players. Now that it is going to be an Olympic sport for the first time in 2028, Tears dreams that Slovakia could qualify.

"Whether or not that happens, now it's about laying the foundations for the sport long term. I'm really excited about that," he says, adding that the fact he can contribute to the sport in the country he has close ties to makes him passionate about it even more.

"It's an opportunity to showcase to the world that Slovakia has a proud history of sport."

Tears goes on to say that before the law changed, it was very difficult to get players to play for Slovakia because there were so many legal issues. Only players born in Slovakia or born to a Slovak parent could play, but there were very few such players in the US and Canada.

Now that the doors have been opened, players who have Slovak grandparents, for example, now have a chance. Other countries, including the Czech Republic, have been doing this for a few years, recruiting US or Canadian players who can help earn success, which in turn helps get more people interested in the sport.

"I reached out to major US college coaches where the sport is really at the top level. I got a good reception, have some good prospects that are interested in playing and competing at an international level. It's very, very difficult to play for the US team even if you're a good player."

According to Tears, even though lacrosse in Slovakia is still developing, the players have already achieved some international successes, despite a tight budget. The Slovak team is excited to compete and make the country proud.

"I felt really welcomed by the guys, they welcomed me with open arms, didn't treat me like a random American guy. I was a little surprised by it. That spirit of generosity was wonderful."

How do you say words with consonants?

Tears is learning Slovak himself, currently working on his A2 certificate.

"I listen to the to the Dobré Ráno podcast so that I can speak to the players. I think it's in my head somewhere from listening to my grandparents while growing up. It's easier than I expected, but it's definitely a challenging language."

What feels a little bit tricky for him is that not many people use pronouns and the flexibility of some Slovak words.

"I learned German in high school and it's very, very rigid, you know exactly where words are going to be in sentences. When I practice my conversational Slovak, word order changes all the time. When I listen to other conversations, sometimes it's hard to pick it up right away. Also, pronunciation is sometimes difficult, especially words with a lot of consonants. I don't understand how you can even pronounce it, like the word 'trh' [market]," he admits.

If there is anything comforting about the Slovak language for Tears, it's that it feels like all the words in a given sentence are there for a reason.

"In other languages, the same thing can be said many different ways. I feel like it's not the case here. It's very straightforward. And I think once you sort of understand how the language is structured, it gets easier. Every morning I wake up really early and spend usually around an hour studying," he explains, adding that he uses an app and watches YouTube videos; classic American shows like Friends, Seinfeld and Frasier and other sitcoms are available with Slovak subtitles. Those are really good because you learn a lot of the colloquial Slovak, he opines.

At home

Besides Bratislava, however, Tears didn't have the opportunity to travel further into Slovakia, although he wants to in the future.

"I really want to get to the eastern part of Slovakia, where my great-grandparents grew up. I've been trying to find out whether we have any distant family in Slovakia. My cousin here in the US thinks we definitely do. We tried to search for the last name Stavar [meaning builder]. There are a couple of people with that name, but we're not sure if they're connected to us or not," he explains, adding that he was told his great-grandfather had children who stayed in Slovakia when the family moved to the US.

He has some old pictures left by his mum, but that's about it. The generation that could have told him something has passed away.

"When I was in Slovakia, I felt very at home, comfortable. It was a little bit strange for me. I didn't expect to feel like that. I think there's an opportunity for folks with Slovak heritage to contribute to Slovak society in a way that they might not have considered," Tears opines.

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