Did you guys see the 60 minutes story on Somana football? It was really amazing. Given how small the Islands are and how far they are from the States, they have an incredible number of players in Major College football and the NFL. They have nothing to work with, no gyms, no personal trainers, their equipement is substandard, they don't have big coaching staffs or any of the advantages of kids playing football in the states. They just started pee-wee football, before this year the kids didn't play football till they got to high school. <embed src='http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf' FlashVars='linkUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6108545n&releaseURL=http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf&videoId=50082383&partner=news&vert=News&si=254&autoPlayVid=false&name=cbsPlayer&allowScriptAccess=always&wmode=transparent&embedded=y&scale=noscale&rv=n&salign=tl' allowFullScreen='true' width='425' height='324' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed><br><a>Watch CBS News Videos Online</a>
Incredible! I would like to see them play some of our stateside high school football teams? We probably would get our rear ends kicked pretty good. Don
I am a big believer in kids NOT playing football till HS. I was happy when my son told me he no longer wanted to play football because I really believe it's taught wrong, too early with the wrong emphasis. There are better sports that develop athleticism and should be utilized before trying football. I may push him to give it another look at a later date, but right now I support his decision to skip it. I wonder if peewee football will have a negative effect on Samoan football?
Terry, I saw the segment and was both impressed and moved at the same time. The island culture is a throwback to the old days in the U.S. of discipline, hard work, and respect. I have become a huge fan of the Samoan culture, football aside. Wasn't that a touching story of the winning QB playing through the grief of his father's untimely death?
I didn't get to see the program but have read a lot about it. It's amazing what they do there. If that program is repeated I'll try to catch it.
Terry, Indeed, it is a touching aspect of the story. I can't imagine what that kid was going through. In these parts.. folks talk about the Bear and his reference to 'want to' as a key component of a football players ability. The bottom line is, those island boys gotta whole lot of 'want to' in them. They will hit you like you just slapped their mother and then hug you after the game. It is a nice look back into certain aspects of American society that are lost in certain areas. The area I played in had quite a few kids who were either from Samoa or Hawaii or their families were from there and they had recently come stateside. I don't have a bad word to say about a single one of them, and they were almost all capable of hitting you so hard that you'd lose teeth.