Sign of hope in Compton

Having outlined last week the lurid history of Compton, the home of the Bloods and of West Coast gangsta rap, I want to point out a sign of social reconstruction in that blighted municipality between Los Angeles and Long Beach.

I recently went to a high school championship football game between a Compton school and a higher ranked private school. One little remarked development in recent decades is that the best high school football programs are now typically predominantly white schools, either exurban, or private. The leading football schools will now generally feature a few black stars at running back, receiver, or cornerback, but will be otherwise white, with a sprinkling of Hispanics, Asians, American Indians, and (most hoped for) huge Pacific Islanders. For example, the private school in last night's game featured a miniature version of Reggie Bush, an elusive black back who had run for over 2000 yards at 11 yards per carry, but was otherwise mostly white. Add in a terrific white quarterback averaging over 10 yards per both pass attempt and carry, a highly trained and motivated defense, and sensational special teams, such as a kicker who has made 26 of 33 field goals and 100% of his extra points over the last two years, and that combination had been good for three straight championships.

Physically, the mostly black Compton team looked much more impressive with a gigantic offensive line, including a 6'-5" 319 pound tight end, made up largely of Samoans and other Islanders, and a lot of strong, fast black running backs in the 200 pound range. But the fans of the private school were confident, since in recent decades in high school ball, black teams have tended to lack the militaristic discipline that football requires. Most of the student enthusiasm in places like Compton has gone into basketball, which reflects contemporary African-American culture's obsession with superstars. Football teams, with their scores of necessary but anonymous spear-carriers in helmets cloaking their individuality, have a hard time competing with the glamour of basketball, where the potential for showing off is so much greater.

Well, the underdog Compton football team just went out and dominated, and in a manner that coach Vince Lombardi himself would have admired. Most notably, they refrained from what you see in the NFL where black players celebrate every tackle and first down like they had just won the Super Bowl. They focused on the job at hand and didn't waste time and energy showing off for the crowd until late in the 4th quarter when they had the game more than wrapped up.

This is a real tribute to the coaching staff, and a sign of hope for Compton that its youth might be waking up from its catastrophic two decade-long obsession with the values of gangsta rap.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer