KEY POINTS:
An American football team starts every game with a penalty against them - after refusing to give up their pre-match ritual of performing a rugby-style haka.
Te Rauparaha's haka Ka Mate - also used by the All Blacks, has been adopted by Oregon's Jefferson High School football team.
The Jefferson Democrats have seven Tongan players on their team who have taught the haka to the rest of the squad, the cheerleaders, and even some admiring younger pupils.
"It feels good that people want to do what we do for a change," Tongan linebacker Mike Moala, one of the leaders of the haka told the Oregonian newspaper. "It makes us feel kind of famous.'
But two groups who don't seem so impressed by their battle cry are match officials and their opponents.
Referees have no problem with Jefferson performing the haka on the sideline before or after games - increasing numbers of school and college teams in America do.
But Jefferson prefer to mimic the All Blacks and do it on the halfway line and aimed at the opposition - and that's where the penalties come in.
"The problem wasn't with the ritual,' said Brad Garrett, of the Oregon School Activities Association.
"The problem was they performed it while directing it at the other team. By federation rule, that is taunting. It's about the location.'
But Jefferson coach Anthony Stoudamire allowed his players to vote on whether to keep doing the haka to rival teams, even though it would cost them a penalty.
Inevitably the players voted to maintain the tradition and defy the authorities, and starting every game with a 15-yard penalty has taken nothing away from their abilities as a team.
They performed the haka and took the penalty before last week's game with Klamath Union, and promptly marched into the third round of the play-offs.
- NZPA
