The cultural artifacts most synonymous with Long Beach are Snoop Doggy Dogg, “the Eastside of the LBC” and “Nate Dogg and Warren G. had to regulate.”
In this video after the jump, Hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg catches up with Coach Keith Thompson (aka Slice) and discusses what makes Long Beach Poly High School so important. To Snoop, Poly’s programs and coaches teach many young students how to be responsible young men.
Snoop was also particularly inspired by Coach Thompson, who started DJing and recording alongside coaching. For an ambitious Poly student like Snoop, seeing someone succeed at and balance two of his major interests was confirmation that big dreams outside of Long Beach weren’t just OK, they were attainable. For Rizzle.
“4th and Forever” chronicles the 2010 football season of Long Beach Polytechnic High School, touted by Sports Illustrated as the “Sports School of the Century” and boasts the largest roster of high school players who have gone on to the NFL.
After decades of success, Poly had a down year in 2009. They had their worst season in 15 years and lost to local rival Lakewood for the first time in over 25 years. After years of being pegged as “the team to beat,” the aura of invincibility is gone. The players are worried that their hopes for a college scholarship have dimmed. The clock is ticking and the question is: Can Head Football Coach Raul Lara pull the team together for one more season of greatness? And, can the players avoid the temptations of the street, succeed in the classroom, and emerge victorious on the field? What’s the dizzle?
Tune in Thursdays at 9/8c for all-new episodes of “4th and Forever.” Fo schizzle!
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook