How American Samoa has achieved such disproportionate representation in pro and major college football, and what issues it presents, are the essence of “Tropic of Football.” This is a fresh and frank take on this phenomenon, which has seen players like Troy Polamalu, Marcus Mariota, and the late Junior Seau reach the pinnacle of their sport. Rob Ruck, a history professor at the University of Pittsburgh, examines how Samoans living on a small group of islands in the South Pacific and in Hawaii came to embrace football after World War II. Just what this means culturally for the Samoan warrior ethos as youth football participation in the larger US population declines is a question that lies at the heart of this book.
Here’s an excerpt from Tropic of Football:
“Though American notions about sport came along on football’s South Seas journey, Samoans redefined the game’s meaning and made it a way to shout their story to the world.
"And that redefinition propels their success. Though Samoans are physically imposing and tough, their exploits are not the results of inherent natural superiority. What makes them so good at the sport – their discipline and warrior bearing – are the end products of a culture that resisted conquest and colonization but embraced Christianity in the 1800s and the U.S. military during World War II. No group under the U.S. flag has contributed a greater percentage of its men and women to the military.”
