Lopez finds more glory than fame from taekwondo success

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Steven Lopez moves around Houston in relative obscurity.

He turns many a head - a curse of the good-looking - but for a person of his stature, his talent, his worldwide respect, he is surprisingly anonymous, even in his hometown.

Diana Lopez likes to refer to her brother as "the Michael Jordan of taekwondo," and he has been the world's best for more than a decade and is arguably the greatest of all time.

Unlike MJ, however, there aren't legions of little boys wanting to be like Steven.

In that, the extraordinary talent is just an ordinary guy, although his résumé is anything but - a five-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist who is headed to London, where he will seek redemption for his controversial loss in Beijing.

"Taekwondo just doesn't have that cache that other sports have, and I've wanted to change that for some time, and I think that we have," Lopez said, with the "we" being his brothers and sister, who have joined to make Sugar Land and Houston the center of the U.S. taekwondo scene. "We are recognized more than ever, but of course it isn't on the level of the major sports in the United States. People kind of think they recognize you, but they aren't sure why.

"What I wouldn't do to have that change. I think because of our Olympic success more kids do look up to us than ever before and the sport has made a mark that it didn't have when I first became interested in it."

Four-time Olympian Steven Lopez is called "the Michael Jordan of taekwondo" by his younger sister, Diana, but he remains relatively anonymous - which is fine by Lopez, who's focusing on more Olympic glory. Four-time Olympian Steven Lopez is called "the Michael Jordan of taekwondo" by his younger sister, Diana, but he remains relatively anonymous - which is fine by Lopez, who's focusing on more Olympic glory. Photo: Smiley N. Pool Photo: Smiley N. Pool Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Lopez finds more glory than fame from taekwondo success 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

No big deal

Still, there is no doubt that Jeremy Lin, who has thousands of players ahead of him on the list of all-time great basketball players, is already a bigger star in Houston than Steven Lopez, and he has yet to play a real game for the Rockets.

That's the lot of many Olympic athletes. They toil in solitude and their glory is often self-contained, with their highlight coming but once every four years.

The torturous, "almost barbaric" training in the Houston heat that his older brother Jean, "el jefe" of America's grand taekwondo family, puts him through certainly isn't the highlight.

There are flashes of attention for stars like Lopez - national television shows like "The Bachelor" came calling after the 2004 Olympics (he declined), and he was just on a new dating show called "The Choice" - and he has garnered major sponsors, but riches and fame are not why he does what he does.

"My mom (Ondina) always stressed that being mediocre is the worst thing you can be," Lopez said. "I've always competed to win, not to be famous."

Famous might come if he ever becomes a soap opera star, which is something he would definitely do.

Lopez, 33, will be one of the oldest competitors at the Olympics. He says that as long as he has the drive, he will continue to compete.

At the Lopez gym in Sugar Land, while fellow Olympians Steven and Diana are working out with younger brother Mark, a silver medalist in Beijing, the next generation, nieces and nephews, prepares to carry on the family legacy.

With his résumé, Steven Lopez will be a much-sought-after instructor when his fighting days are done.

Like an artist

He put off going to the University of Houston with dreams of becoming a doctor to give taekwondo a shot. It has worked out well, as he has mastered the Korean martial art and become a champion, something few believed an American could accomplish.

"I wish more people knew how amazing my brother is," said Diana, who won the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics and also represents the U.S. in London. "Watching him fight is like watching a great artist. It's beautiful. It's perfection."

Actually, despite his dominance, perfection is something Lopez says he is still trying to reach, something he has sought since he quit playing football in middle school because he realized one person didn't have enough control over winning. Taekwondo gave him that control. Well, more of it.

Lopez enters the 2012 Games on a mission to medal. Lopez was an upset victim in a semifinal match in 2008, thanks to a controversial (and later deemed incorrect) ruling that cost him a late lead and led to a loss in sudden-death overtime.

The World Taekwondo Federation sent him a letter admitting to the error, and Lopez doesn't even know where put it, because "the letter isn't the gold medal."

"Nothing beats winning," Lopez said. "If you're in a sport for something other than to win, if you're in it for money or fame, if you're in it so that people will come up to you and ask for autographs, you're in it for the wrong reasons.

"At the end of the day, there is a competition. May the best man win. Names don't win championships."

jerome.solomon@chron.com