Desi Local Mumbai Aunties

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Americans

American Samoa:Scott Pelly is in American Samoa, to see how the territory with a population of less than the capacity of the stadium pro-football players sends the NFL than in any city in the same way in America.
There, a small community that produces more NFL players in any other place than in America. It is not in Texas, Florida and Oklahoma, or. In fact, as far from the fundamentals of football, as you can get.
Call it the “Football Island” – American Samoa, the rock in the far South Pacific.
As for football stat? On the island of 65,000 people, there are more than 30 players Samoan descent in the NFL and more than 200 games division college goals. It’s just that 30 of the current NFL players out of Sparks, Nevada, or Gastonia, NC
As first reported last winter, “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley traveled 8000 miles of American Samoa and to find people and tradition, so is ideal for the game in America – it is as if they were waiting for ages for football to come ashore.
In American Samoa, the football team warms up to the Haka War Dance – something had been transferred to the century teaches us the flexibility to soldiers in the size and strength.
What the coach did not want him to think that in the first place? It turns out the South Pacific is to increase the football talent before a football.
While Pelley was there, on the island was to get a set for your version of Super Bowl – High School Championship.
After the victory of the season, a 16-year-old defender will Tavita Neemia Samoana school sharks. His coach, Pepine Lauvoa, a roster that continental school imagined.
In American Samoa, a football team warms up with the Haka War Dance – something that’s been passed down for ages to teach agility to warriors of size and strength.
What coach doesn’t wish he’d thought of that first? It turns out the South Pacific was raising football talent before there was football.While Pelley was there, the island was getting set for its version of the Super Bowl – the High School Championship.
After a winning season, 16-year-old quarterback Tavita Neemia would lead the Samoana High School Sharks. His coach, Pepine Lauvoa, has a roster that mainland schools dream about.
“They’re soft spoken, they’re gentle,” he told Pelley of his players. “But when they put on their equipment, they just become monsters. And they just want to go out and hit and hit and hit.”
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.
“It looks like you’ve been hitting cars with this thing,” Pelley said, holding a beaten-up football helmet, eliciting laughter from the players.
In the last five years alone, the island’s six high schools have produced 10 NFL linemen. It’s estimated that a boy born to Samoan parents is 56 times more likely to get into the NFL than any other kid in America.
The Samoan people are big. And big is beautiful, according to Togiola Tulafono, the governor of American Samoa.
Tulafono said it’s not just size that makes the Samoans such great football players. His people come from a farming culture that prizes hard work, reverence and discipline. And he thinks that’s why scouts and coaches are pulling out their atlases.
“I’m afraid most Americans back on the mainland would be hard pressed to pick this place out on a map,” Pelley said.
“Yeah, it’s not very visible,” Tulafono agreed.
“It is a small dot on a big ocean.”
“It is, it is,” he responded. But nowadays Google helps a lot.

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