Do you know how to HAKA???

[Nathans_Dad]

This vid is of the local high school football team and their pre-game ritual. It is a Polynesian war dance called the Haka. There is a large population of Tongans in Euless, Texas who were brought here by the airlines to do baggage handling and food service jobs at D/FW airport. Tongans are similar to Samoans, very large people. We see a lot of them at the hospital, almost every adult has diabetes and hypertension.

Anyhow, they make a hell of an offensive line! Trinity High School is #1 in the country I think right now.

[TheMentat]

Very common in South Pacific rugby teams.

I can remember playing rugby in high school against teams from New Zealand. Large does not adequately describe some of the Polynesian players. They are enormous, and FAST!

[IROC]

Ummm...yeah...they don't do that around here. But the local high school does have the second longest (?) active winning streak of any team in the nation, so maybe they don't need to.

Seems odd that airlines would go through all the trouble of bringing people from some small island in the Pacific to an airport in Texas just to lose people's luggage and serve overpriced airport food.

[M.D. Holloway]

The airlines at DFW do it because these folks have large kids that play good ball. Let us remember what the religion is here...

[strupgolf]

"Win" at all cost. I guess the old school adage of using what you have isn't good enough. You have to bring in people from the South Pacific to win games and "be #1". What the f*** for.

[Nathans_Dad]

Oh come on. Are you seriously telling me that the airline industry brought in Tongan people so that Trinity High School in Euless, Texas could have a better football team?

That's one of the dumbest conspiracy theories I have heard yet.

[Bill Douglas]

Yes.

[Hugh R]

Isn't that something that you pull deep out of your throat?

[Tidybuoy]

I thought this was Haka.....

[svandamme]

another thing badly copied from Rugby,



Look ma ! no padding or helmet, or nancying about with seperate offense and defense teams

[Don Plumley]

The All Blacks do a cool Haka before international matches. Here's a video:

[Bill Douglas]

Those Coconuts in the first movie file haven't got a clue. In fact a haka is a New Zealand Moari thing that a few Pacic Islands have copied recently.

[Bill Douglas]

Guys, in Dons movie file, the guy on the right side end of the front row. I go surfing with him. He's Ma'a Nonu.

[svandamme]

Here's one vs Tonga, Tonga replies

[rouxroux]

Yeah, but can they go as long as the badgers?

http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com

http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/footy.html
(the football (soccer) version

[ZOO]

I think Hakkas are in bad taste. There is a great deal of emphasis in rugby on collegiality and shared love of the game -- the entire idea behind the post-game socials are to bring the teams together. Doing some sort of aggressive war dance beforehand contradicts the spirit of the sport, in my opinion.

Rob (whose fiancee coaches with the Canadian women's national rugby program, and therefore has watched lots of rugby in the spirit of a happy marriage)

[gassy]

I'm gonna try that tonight before I hop in the sack. I think my wife will love it.

[coolngroovy]

Doing some sort of aggressive war dance beforehand

Ummmm, it is neither agressive nor a war dance!

Atleast that's what the Kiwi's tell me.

[Nathans_Dad]

I don't think these guys "stole" it from New Zealand. As I said before, these are kids whose parents were brought directly from Tonga. These polynesian war dances exist in one form or another throughout the Pacific Islands.

Anyhow, I think it's pretty cool that they are bringing some of their heritage into the game. It does look a little wierd when the scrawny white kid who is the punter is out there though.

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

The All Blacks do a cool Haka before international matches. Here's a video:

I saw them in NZ about 18 months ago, those guys are seriously scary.