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Samoans in American Sports

The Samoan countries have been witnessing a large showing in American sports at every level for years, specifically football. It all started with the American annexation of American Samoa in 1900. Ever then, starting mostly with Samoan men joining the American army, there has been a slow migration of these men into American sports. The American annexation of Samoa was eventually deemed "America's Shame in the South Seas" for the poverty that was going on there. Modernization ensued with the building of schools and businesses, and eventually the Samoans who were already well educated in rugby saw football on television.

The sport has elevated so highly in Samoa, that a boy from there is 40 times more likely to reach the National Football League than a boy born in the United States. With their naturally big boned frames, nimble feet, and disciplined upbringings, r ecruiters are recognizing that these boys are hard-wired for team sports, especially football. Tui Alailefaleula, a native of American Samoa and Division-1 football player at the University of Washington, said "it was the sport we were born to play."

There are approximately 500,000 people of Samoan descent in the world, and less than half of them have access to American football, and yet there are still over 200 playing Division 1 football in the United States and over 30 on professional rosters. There has been a continued effort in the area of academics to improve the chances for these young men of having these opportunities, and so far there has only been an increase to the number of Samoans doing so. The response to football is so great that the Island High School Championship has become somewhat a holiday, second only to Flag Day. The stadium is always filled to capacity, with people standing on cars and even climbing trees just to catch a glimpse.