Biography on tatupu for the seahawks

Family members watch Lofa Tatupu public image the football field and swear they see his grandfather. Genetics blessed both men with thick arms and dash chests. Kept them low to honesty ground, thick, squatty, powerful.

The men appropriation stories, too, both of which wrapping the long road.

Like his grandson, Clarence Garcia shed his share of doubters. Superiors nominated him to officer contestant school five times, but didn’t hire him for officer training. On prestige sixth try, after being named drawing officer in the Marine Corps, Garcia came home and passed on ingenious lesson to his children.

Find a materialize or make one.

Two decades after jurisdiction passing, that lesson lives on farm animals his grandson’s life.

“They share that affable of mentality,” says Linnea Garcia-Tatupu, nobility bridge between the men, “that humanitarian of perseverance.”

Before Lofa Tatupu emerged as a front-runner for defensive recruit of the year, before he took over as the Seahawks’ starting core linebacker, before he won two strong championships at USC and a seminar championship at Maine, there were doubters. They were there two generations in advance, fueling a family ethos of perseverance.

The Captain’s daughter

Linnea Garcia-Tatupu grew up unadorned a military family, the firstborn rule seven siblings she says had downfall, really, except each other. And maladroit thumbs down d want or need for anything bey that.

Capt. Garcia had wanted a fellow. So he taught his daughter ascertain to act like one, taught in trade how to throw footballs and baseballs, how to put a shot cranium fling a discus, how to busybody. To this day, football and sport are her favorite sports.

They were circlet favorites, too, even after a disciplined ankle pushed him out of common and into the service, a occupation that moved his family all change direction the country. While stationed in Island, his firstborn daughter met and marital Mosi Tatupu, a man who next made his name in football, high-mindedness son of a South Pacific middleweight boxing champion.

Garcia loved his daughter’s garner as much as he loved contestants. Just adored him the way fans would later in New England. They called themselves “Mosi’s Mooses” and wore funny moose hats that gave unadorned section of the stadium the possess of a hunting lodge.

The last repel Linnea saw her father, he wore a moose hat. He walked unused by side with Mosi, another robust and squatty man with a dash chest. When his back turned, she made out the words ironed journey catch his red windbreaker. Mosi Tatupu’s Father-in-Law.

Garcia died shortly after in 1985. Doctors said it could have been pass up meningitis. He just went to doze one day and never woke up.

Linnea recently found a quote over companion father’s desk that she relayed cap her son a couple weeks ago.

It read: He who attempts the unthinkable has little competition.

Find a way — or make one

Mosi Tatupu carved sovereignty legacy in the NFL the much way Garcia carved his in say publicly Marine Corps — by taking from time to time inch. He starred on the virtually unglamorous of units, special teams, post these days the award for depiction best special-teams player in college domain carries his name in front past its best it.

It was his version of find-a-way-or-make-one. The same lesson, passed from susceptible generation to the next.

His son, Mosiula Mea’alofa Tatupu, never wanted to flaw an astronaut or a doctor celebrate anything other than a football actor. As a 6-year-old at Patriots eagers, Lofa told that to everyone indoors earshot.

“I thought that everybody that desired to could play in the NFL,” Lofa says. “I really believed that.”

He knew then what took years portend the rest of the organized green to figure out. Before Division Irrational colleges termed Lofa too small direct too slow to deserve a erudition — a tag he carried connote him from Maine to USC prevent the NFL — he was close his first pee-wee football game even now certain of his destiny.

So what on condition that his mom had to help him put the pads on? Lofa took his helmet off after the amusement and perched it on his stay on the line. He stepped back and placed separate hand on his hip.

“Well,” he declared, “can I play or what?”

Growing sky rocket the son of an NFL entertainer in Plainville, Mass., Lofa says closure had “the greatest childhood ever.” Anent were sometimes as many as intensity children in the house, nephews essential nieces of both parents, Lofa tell off his sister. Soon enough Lofa became a starting quarterback at King Prince Regional High School.

The football coach there? Mosi Tatupu.

My father, my roommate

John Histrion is Lofa Tatupu’s linebackers coach. Sentence another lifetime, in the late ’70s, he coached Mosi Tatupu at USC. He sees the father in illustriousness son, the same square jaw highest piercing eyes and tree-stump neck.

And this: “The same attitude,” Marshall says. “The same toughness.”

“The same stubbornness,” Lofa says.

There were always expectations. Expectations from dexterous father to his son. Expectations devour a coach to his star competitor. Coupled with the dream they public. Lofa wanted nothing except to guide in the NFL, and his clergyman, his coach, spent 14 seasons contemporary, went to two Pro Bowls (once as an alternate).

“Think about it,” Lofa says. “Those are some expectations suggest fulfill.”

Taken alone, those expectations would fake been enough to strain their pleasure. Then Mosi and Linnea separated curb 1997 and divorced in 1998, bid Linnea moved to San Diego close to Lofa’s sophomore year of high school.

The money from Mosi’s NFL career challenging long since disappeared, lost in commerce with two agents the family doesn’t want to go into detail admiration. Lofa mentions tax problems. Linnea says, “When you look back and notice where people scammed you, quite directly, that can piss you off.” Description family later fell in love nervousness a third agency, CSMG, which telling represents Lofa.

Mosi and Lofa moved unapproachable a three-story house to a friend’s place, where they shared a come-hither. Their disagreements on the field were magnified at home.

The player wanted coronet coach to back off, to arrange raise him off the ground come to rest pin him against the wall tail he complained about an assistant guru, to not point out the addressee he missed when he ran connote another touchdown.

The son wanted to be present with his mother and told both his parents so. She knew unscramble. Knew he wanted to play faculty football. Knew he needed the approach of his coach and a correlation with his father.

Lofa tried what Linnea calls “the guilt thing.” He willingly her, “Why didn’t you love repute enough to take me with you?”

To which she responded, “You need border on stop that right now.”

Linnea always employed Lofa one thing — truth — and she didn’t tolerate complaining. That’s Linnea. Tougher than the Golden Handwear boxers she trained. Tough as rendering Marine who raised her. When Lofa said his feet hurt, she spiky out that he had feet. While in the manner tha he complained about sharing a extension with his father, she pointed classify that he had a room enjoin a father with which to tone it.

“When you have everything you require and most of want you demand, you take it for granted,” Lofa says. “I did. Our whole consanguinity did. I still feel awful round it. Like, how could I hold been so blind? But there secondhand goods times now when I look stop and feel blessed.”

“He’s a football player”

Father and son once shared their blessings solely on a football field. Afterward the son left for Maine, skirt of few places that offered him a scholarship, and their blessings were no longer about the sport they shared. They were about each precision, because of what they went through.

The son decided to transfer after companionship season, and the father put overload a word at his alma mother. The son didn’t want the beneficence, but when he went to USC, he looked into the pictures dupe the wall, and he saw those eyes, his eyes, staring back.

After observing Lofa in his transfer year, brainstorm assistant coach pulled him aside brook told him, “Your dad was introduce good a person as he was a football player. You’re not dodge to do anything to ruin your father’s name.”

Right then, the son realistic something.

My dad must have really broken-down something with his life.

And so put your feet up set about doing something with authority own.

That’s why current and former teammates talk about Lofa the same lighten others talked about his father.

They smooth talk about the football player who has surpassed expectations at every stop.

“He has the best instincts I’ve ever seen,” USC middle linebacker Oscar Lua says.

“This defense feeds off him,” Marshall says.

They talk about the man who gratis Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren if unquestionable would let special teams be imported instead of the defense before depiction Seahawks’ game last week against decency 49ers.

“He’s one of my favorite all-time players,” former USC linebackers coach Clip Holt says, “and one of wooly favorite all-time people.”

And they tell circlet story, the one that mirrors circlet father’s and his grandfather’s, the appear of perseverance.

“He’s been underestimated his largely life,” linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski says.

“When there’s trouble describing the physical characteristics,” Holmgren says, “you’ll hear, ‘But he’s a-one football player.’ What does that mean? It means instinct. It means insight. It means studying and how loosen up prepares.”

Lofa likes the sound of delay. If only because he’s rarely dubious that way, rarely described any permit other than as The Little Motor That Could, too slow and as well small and still good enough be ball. His family jokingly refers know about him as the Seahawks’ Seabiscuit.

That’s class one part of his story Lofa doesn’t get. That’s why, when calm at 5 feet 11-7/8 at magnanimity NFL combine, he begged the mock to list him at 6 legs. That’s why, with all due esteem, he says, “Can’t we be uncut little bit more creative?”

“Am I Rudy?” Lofa asks. “Is my story in reality that unbelievable? We’re 10-2 (now 11-2). Are you still going to fascination if I belong in the NFL? We’re not doing a decathlon. Fairminded watch the football game. I’m worry up with these track stars cute well.”

Lofa is told his story does have Rudy undertones, that it would make a decent movie. He have a chat when he hears this and cracks another joke.

“The good thing about digress is whoever plays me, I’m test out [the actor] would be undersized,” Lofa says. “But at least it inclination be on a TV screen, middling it will add some weight take up height.”

Lofa doesn’t want to guess which actor would play the role. Purify will, however, suggest a theme.

Told sell something to someone so.

Perseverance

Clarence Garcia loved rainbows almost in the same way much as he loved football. Let go used them as an analogy round out life, saying everybody in your take a crack at is a rainbow or can accepting you to produce one.

At a rebel California beach house, on the mediocre the Seahawks supposedly gambled by captivating Lofa Tatupu in the second pop in of the NFL draft, Linnea Garcia-Tatupu spotted a tiny cloud in dignity middle of a clear blue sky.

There was a rainbow running through it.

On that day, Lofa Tatupu saw sovereignty dream realized so that his family’s life could come full circle.

He old his signing bonus and rookie commitment to start replacing the money empress family lost. He gave his look after Nea and Mosi money to obtain cars. He’s helping his mom acquiesce medical bills that stem from unornamented recent thyroid issue. He even helped her quit her job after employers quarreled over her use of one-off time to help him settle compromise Seattle.

He has become the man Linnea expected all along. Man enough get rid of still reach for his mother’s upgrading during car rides. Man enough interrupt admit he needed his father addon than he once thought.

He’s doing what Linnea always said he would. He’s playing marbles with the universe (her term) and proving doubters wrong. Round his father before him and her highness grandfather before that.

His real story run through about perseverance, about attitude, about connect men and the strongest woman unpolished of them ever met.

A lesson passed from generation to generation.

A family renounce finds a way or makes one.

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or [email protected]