NBC has gone to great lengths to put together an informative country-by-country breakdown of the 2012 Summer Olympics, with each nation’s athletic history being profiled on the network’s Olympics website. For example: did you know that Liechtenstein does not have any athletes at the Summer Olympics and, therefore, will not contend for any medals? That’s some incredible insight right there.
Other countries obviously have a significant wealth of information available, and that’s great, because most of us probably don’t know a lot about a territory like, say, American Samoa. So what would NBC have us learn about such a place and the great athletes that it has produced?
Consists of seven small islands about halfway between Hawaii and Sydney. Located 2,300 miles southwest of Honolulu in the South Pacific Ocean and is the most southerly of all lands under American sovereignty.
Became a U.S. territory in 1900 by a treaty with the United Kingdom and Germany. Until 1951, was under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy. American Samoans are considered U.S. nationals, not U.S. citizens. Since 1981, has had a non-voting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The most famous person from American Samoa is the former Miami Dolphins linebacker Junior Seau, who now is now retired after playing for the New England Patriots.
I guess “retired” isn’t false. I’m just not sure that “is now retired” is the right way to describe Seau’s current situation. Perhaps “who retired after playing for the New England Patriots” might have been the better phrase to avoid using key words like “shotgun” and “chest”, but every site’s editor has his own style, so who am I to nitpick?
Meanwhile, if you’re in the market for a beachside home, Fox News is reporting with some great hyperlinking that Seau’s Oceanside house is for sale for $2.3 million. It’s a beautiful home, but you will have to get used to ESPN filming crying women outside of it every few weeks.
(H/T to Fark)
