I’m not surprised there are few Samoans in the NFL - rugby’s their sport.
As with most South Sea Islanders.
Both Fiji and Samoa are especially good at the seven only player version of rugby, ranking 2nd and 4th respectively in the world rankings - and I seem to recall a bit of an argy-bargy from other countries about some playing for the New Zealand national team
bust out dat haka!
no seriously, people from the pacific would be great in the nfl but the sport isn't promoted around their. their sporting culture largely is influenced by british sport > rugby.
a lot of germans would make great linemen as well.
the nfl needs to scout internationally because there is talent out there.
'A Samoan can run a marathon, but it is unlikely that an Ethiopian or Kenyan will ever play in the NFL.'
I'm not an NFL fan, but I'm sure it's a bit harder to play in the NFL than run a marathon!
Different upbringing, diet and enough roids and a Kenyan or Ethiopian might compete in the NFL, of course not going to happen any time soon
Check out how many NFLers are Nigerian and/or have Nigerian last names. Probably more than those from Samoa.
Samoans represent an increadible presence in the NFL considering the relatively small population
Not a great comparison. Kenya dominates the WORLD in most distances: track, roads, marathons, etc. Samoans are good at a primarily American sport, and at only certain positions. (as big fat, mean, lineman)
But Nigeria's population is a lot greater than Samoa's.
Any African nation will have more players in the NFL than Samoa.
But if you do the maths then this is what the ratio would look like:
Americans: NFL Players - 176,470:1
Blacks: Blacks in NFL - 34,101:1
American Samoans:Samoans in NFL - 2,167:1
Figures are based solely on ethnicity and not place of birth. The figures just gives you an idea of how the represent per population and not about whos "dominating" the NFL.
Ant btw more than half of Samoans know nothing about American Football as rugby union, rugby league, cricket and volleyball is their favourite sport.
Almost 2/3 of the New Zealand All Black team is made up of Samoans.
“Almost 2/3 of the New Zealand All Black team is made up of Samoans.”
Really?
I hope you are not a teacher of mathematics, because there were 4 Samoans and one from Fiji amongst the 33 players representing New Zealand of their 2009 tour.
There are 7 Samoans from the team you mention on your link:
1. John Afoa
2. Neemia Tialata
3. Maa Nonu
4. Jerome Kaino
5. Mills Muliaina
6. Liam Messam (Maori/Samoan)
7. Rodney So'oialo
1. Sitiveni Sivivatu (Fijiian)
Numbers not exact sorry but if you watch many of the All Blacks and Kiwis internationals you would know what I mean as most of the time, usually half, if not, most of the team that strips for matches are Samoans as the per the following team from 2006:
1. Tony Woodcock
2. Keven Mealamu (Samoan)
3. Neemia Tialata (Samoan)
4. Ali Williams
5. Brad Thorne
6. Jerry Collins (Samoan)
7. Richie McCaw (Best player in the world)
8. Rodney So'oialo (Samoan)
9. Jimmy Cowan
10. Daniel Carter
11. Siveni Sivivatu
12. Conrad Smith
13. Tana Umaga, Captain (Samoan)
14. Maa Nonu (Samoan)
15. Mills Muliana (Samoan)
16. Andrew Hore
17. Jerome Kaino (Samoan)
18. John Afoa (Samoan)
19. Jason Eaton
20. Isaia Toeava (Samoan)
If they introduce gridiron (american football) in Fiji, the the NFL will have a huge influx of Fijians, especially in the following positions (grouped into offense and defense):
Offense:
1. wide receiver
2. running back
3. tightend
Defense
1. defensive end (in a 4-3 scheme)
2. linebacker (outside linebackers in a 3-4 scheme)
3. safety
4. cornerback
5. defensive back
I played rugby with and against Samoans, Fijians and
Papuan New Guineans.
The Fijians where always the toughest of the group mainly because of there determination and game "reading" ability.
The New Guineans were fearless but mostly lacked the size
to be real tough footballers.
The Samoans altho big in stature were the easiest of the group.
This was due mainly to the fact that they were explosive initially but lacked stamina and could easily be worn down with some consistent pressure.
Put another way. They're tough,real tough for the first 10-20 minutes in Rugby.
Given the stop/start nature of N.R.L. they will fit perfectly.
Correction N.F.L.
im sure mils muliaina would be able to run a marathon.He's one of the fittest players in the All Blacks behind richie mccaw and dan carter
One of the best track stories ever...
At the 2001 wlds their were a brother and sister team (I am pretty sure samoan....but Sth Pacific for sure) who were both throwers.
Apparently, the IAAF rules allowed each nation two entries, but they thought it meant two open events (or possibly one female , one male), but after arriving they found out it was one track and one field event. The sister was a ranked thrower, so the brother (all 250-300lbs) ran the 100 rather than not do anything at all. As he barreled down the prelims in 14 or so seconds the place went nuts....our thought at the time...that's pretty fast for a thrower...
OP is a dolt. How many samoan QBs you see in the NFL? How many samoan RBs you see in the NFL? How many samoan WR you see in the NFL? How many samoan CB you see in the NFL? How many samoan kickers you see in the NFL? How many Samoan FS you see in the NFL? How many samoan SS you see in the NFL? How many Samoan punters you see in the NFL?
Answer: NONE YOU IDIOT
If anything the analogy should be that Samoans are to Lineman what Kenyans and Ethiopians are to distance running but that STILL wouldn't work because the best lineman in the NFL just happen to be white and black guys.
Go home and try to be intelligent for once.
http://www.steelers.com/team/roster/Troy-Polamalu/1b1010ec-73b6-414d-88ee-72dbd9b48597idiot of the year wrote:
OP is a dolt. How many samoan QBs you see in the NFL? How many samoan RBs you see in the NFL? How many samoan WR you see in the NFL? How many samoan CB you see in the NFL? How many samoan kickers you see in the NFL? How many Samoan FS you see in the NFL? How many samoan SS you see in the NFL? How many Samoan punters you see in the NFL?
Answer: NONE YOU IDIOT
If anything the analogy should be that Samoans are to Lineman what Kenyans and Ethiopians are to distance running but that STILL wouldn't work because the best lineman in the NFL just happen to be white and black guys.
Go home and try to be intelligent for once.
Is this guy not a safety anymore?
Having lived in Hawaii, I can definitely tell you Samoans are just bigger people. They tend to have fast twitch muscles also. Samoan women wind up being huge generally. Men are big and muscular. This has very little to do with heart compared to other people. Its tradition because they have been successful.
Notice how many West Afrucan ( I mean guys from West Africa) are now playing American football. especially speed positions, take a look at the NFL roster.
You will not see Ethiopian, Kenyans, Eritreans etcc playing in the NFL
not even close... terrible analogy.
You get an F
Speaking about Samoans in wrestling...it has more to do with family ties than anything....
Let's start with Peter Maivia and Sika and Afa Anoa'i(The Wild Samoans)......
Peter Maivia and Rocky Johnson trained Sika and Afa....
Rocky Johnson married Ata Maivia (Peter's daughter)....they had a son: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson....
Afa's three sons all wrestled (Samu, Manu/Afa Jr, LA Smooth)
Sika's son wrestled under the name Rosey....
Aka/Sika's sister gave birth to Fatu/Rikishi(who teamed with Samu to form the Headsrinkters), The Tonga Kid, and Jamal/Umanga who teamed with Rosey to form 3 Minute Warning.
Aka/Sika's brother was father to Yokozuna...
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, from the Fuji islands, is related to the family via marriage.....
Alan