Bengals welcomed home

Original article http://www.bengals.com/news

Domata Peko and his Samoan teammates are home and that is A1 news in a country where the No. 1 export is NFL players and the No. 1 import is national pride.

Even before they left Sunday, Peko, the Bengals defensive tackle and a defensive captain, heard from his parents and two sisters that the island buzzed with the excitement of “Welcome Home” banners and a greeting at the airport as the trio prepared to meet American Samoa governor Togiola Tulafono on Monday morning in the capital of Pago Pago.

“I’m really excited because I haven’t been back since I graduated,” Peko said before leaving from California for the 10-hour flight. “I’m looking forward to not only seeing my family, but other relatives and the people I grew up with. I can’t wait.”

First, Peko, defensive lineman Jon Fanene, and linebacker Rey Maualuga had some business to conduct with Tulafono in Monday’s ceremony. They plan to present him with a check for the $40,000 they raised at a Fountain Square rally during the season for victims of last September’s tsunami. The check is going to read, in part, “from the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tri-State area.”

“We’re going to visit some areas that got hit hard and I’m guessing that’s going to be emotional,” Peko said.
 
It is a significant trip in many ways for all three. Fanene lost some relatives on his father’s side in the killer storm. Peko hasn’t been back since his 2002 graduation from Samoana High School when he left for junior college at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif. Maualuga hasn’t been back since he was three years old and hasn’t seen his brother Rodney since his father’s 2006 funeral.

Peko is also using the trip to unveil his foundation, “Giving Our Kids a Brighter Future,” and it will kick off with visits to assemblies at the six high schools in Pago Pago, including his own, Tuesday and Wednesday. He also plans to do some work with youth in the Cincinnati area, a desire that he can trace back to a visit when he was at Samoana High from then Titans defensive tackle Joe Salave'a. Salave’a was born in Samoa before moving to the States and graduating from Oceanside High School in Oceanside, Calif.

“That had an impact on me that he came back to talk to us. He was a guy that made it,” Peko said. “I want to basically tell them my life story, show them what I’ve done and how important it is to get a college education.”

Peko said he and Maualuga plan to stay for a week but that Fanene plans to stay a little longer.