After Monday nights ridiculous performance by New England Patriots safety, Patrick Chung, it got me to thinking. You see more and more of the NFL's best from different parts of the world. Chung, who was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft played his college ball at Oregon. Monday night Chung helped the Pats do something that has never been done in the history of the NFL. The Patriots scored a record 6 different ways, talk about a team effort. Chung was born in Kingston, Jamaica from Chinese Jamaican descent, his father being half-Chinese Jamaican, half-Afro-Jamaican and mother Afro-Jamaican. It made me think about all of the super stars in the game today that are not from the States.
Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to catch a 60 Minutes exclusive on CBS. The story highlighted American Samoa, an island in the distant South Pacific that is an unincorporated territory of the United States. The island has just over 65,000 people and out of that there are more than 30 players in the NFL right now and over 200 playing college football. Let's put this in perspective real quick, in the last 5 years alone the island has sent 10 NFL lineman to the NFL. You can usually spot a player of Samoan descent by the long wavy hair flowing out of their helmets. A kid born of Samoan descent is 56 times more likely to play in the NFL than any other kid in America. That's a staggering statistic, if there were more of them they would probably take over the NFL.
Well, what makes these kids so good at football? The facilities are no Southlake Carrol and most schools don't even have real fields, mostly dirt and rocks cover these players fields. But that doesn't stop these kids, they are warriors by birth and are raised to be the best with what they are given. They are given chores and follow their parents orders. The Samoa island is rich in farming and that's how they eat and how a lot of people make their living. So from day one,the boys are put to work as if they are men. Something that has disappeared in the U.S.
During the interview with 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley asked a couple of the boys what their size was. One 16-year-old player told Pelley he's 6 feet 5 inches tall. Another, 17 years old, said he's 6 foot 4 and a half. And the craziest part about it is that they are monsters, they all have muscles and don't even lift weights! Why? Because they cannot afford the weights and their equipment wouldn't even pass inspection with the FWISD.
For almost all of the people on the island the only way to get to America and get and education and make a living is to play football.
The most notable stars from Samoan heritage are 2-time Super Bowl Champion Troy Polamalu, Seahawks All-Pro linebacker Lofa Tatupu, all-time great Junior Seau, Steelers All-Pro Kimo von Oelhoffen, and former USC stand-out and now Bengal linebacker, Rey Maualuga. Not too shabby.
I thought this was a very inspiring story and really felt the need to write about it. Not only does football give these boys a chance to compete and stay focused but it also gives them the opportunity to get a college education and help provide for their families for the rest of their lives.
An already poverty stricken island, the American Samoans were devastated when they were hit with a tsunami that killed dozens and ruined most cash crops. The NFL and the NFL Players Association stepped in and are contributing $50,000 to help victims of the tsunami that struck American Samoa in September.
Facts provided by CBSnews.com and footballisland.com
