It’s where he is from, most assuredly, even if he never has been there.
So, for years now, he has punctuated significant plays on the football field by forming a capital “T” with his arms in celebratory tribute to Tonga.
That’s how deeply Tuli Tuipulotu’s roots push into the island nation’s sandy soil, the heart of the Chargers young edge rusher belonging to a place that never has known his footprints.
His father, Niuila — just like his mother, Tania — speaks almost exclusively Tongan, at least, that is, when he speaks at all. “My pop’s,” Tuipulotu said, “a pretty humble dude.”
Until Tuipulotu was born, his family didn’t know if he would arrive as a boy or a girl because they valued the surprise of it all. Then the doctor walked into the waiting room and announced, “We have another football guy.”
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Soon thereafter, this latest football guy’s life began with something of a handoff, Tuipulotu’s mother asking her sister, Lupe Fosnight, for help in raising her fourth son, a practice not uncommon among the islanders.
Tuipulotu understands more Tongan than he speaks, though he knows enough that, while attending USC, he was able to test his way out of a foreign language requirement.
He and his parents, still today, mostly are limited to what he called “little conversations.” Recognizing the words, however, wasn’t required for receiving the message — the message that, for this kid born in L.A., Tonga matters.
“Tuli has seen that the island is real,” Fosnight said. “He has seen it because we wanted to keep that alive in him.”
With the Trojans, Tuipulotu played with his brother, Marlon, and cousin, Talanoa Hufanga. All three are now in the NFL, Marlon a defensive tackle for Philadelphia and Hufanga a safety for San Francisco.
Before each game in college, they would meet in the end zone to share a moment and a prayer, family and faith — as…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/chargers-got-more-tongan-power-123020019.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-01-05 12:30:20
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