Dolly Parton had “A Coat of Many Colors.”
Domata Peko has a dance with more than one meaning, everything from sports field celebration to a loving nod to his Syrian-American wife and even, by extension, some serious reflection to the deadly circumstances that threaten her relatives back in their homeland.
First and foremost, though, it’s mean to trumpet a joyous moment on the field – a sack, a tackle for a loss, a stunning play by he and his defensive mates— and the Bengals had many of them in their 31-7 romp over the St. Louis Rams.
After two straight losses had put the brakes on an 8-0 start, the Bengals hoped to get back on track against St. Louis and they did thanks especially to their defense, which allowed its fewest points of the season.
Peko and the rest of the Cincinnati front overpowered the Rams’ patchwork offensive line and bottled up superb young running back Todd Gurley, who was averaging 97 yards rushing a game and four times had topped 150 in a game.
The Bengals held him to 19 yards on nine carries.
And under a constant pass rush, Rams quarterback Nick Foles became easy pickings for the Cincinnati secondary which intercepted him three times, including Leon Hall’s 19-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter.,
On the Rams final play of that quarter, Foles dumped off a short pass to running back Tre Mason, who was immediately bulldozed by Peko for a 1-yard loss.
That’s when the veteran nose tackle – the emotional leader of the Bengals defense – jumped up, took a few steps away from the rest of the players and began to roll his hips and rub his belly as that avalanche of hair that cascades out of his helmet bounced back and forth on his back.
“I love it when he does the fat man dance,” Bengals safety Reggie Nelson said.
“That’s one of the best celebrations there is in football right now,” said cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones. “When you got a big butt, a big booty, you gotta put it all to work and that’s what he’s doing. He’s havin’ fun and so are we.”
But if the dance has one meaning on the field, it comes with another up in the stands where Anna Peko, Domata’s wife, sat with their children and friends.
“My wife is from the Middle East, from Syria and they’re all about belly dancing,” Peko said as he stood at his dressing quarters. “That’s where I got the idea from and that’s who I’ve dedicated it to.
“When I do it, I’m sending love to her and really to all the people back there (in Syria).”
His wife was born and raised in the United States, but over the years she said she visited her parents’ families in Syria several times, though not since 1999.
It was a few years after that that she said she was working at a fitness gym in California.
“It was before Domata started playing football in college,” she said as she waited outside the stadium for her husband. “I used to sneak him and all his friends into the gym so they could work out for free.”
Peko smiled as he reflected on those times:
“Once I laid eyes on her and we started talking I knew she was the one for me,” he said.
“I think it’s pretty rare to have a Samoan, a Polynesian like me and a Middle Easterner together. We’re the only couple I know of … But I’ll tell you, I don’t think I’d be in the NFL right now without her.”
Anna felt the same about him: “He makes my world go ‘round,” she said.
The couple now has three sons and since Peko was drafted by the Bengals out of Michigan State in 2006, he and his wife have become pillars in the Cincinnati community. They run the Domata Peko Foundation that helps people in need throughout the year and especially at Christmas.
This past summer Peko saw his wife do some belly dancing with family members at a reunion.
“It’s part of our culture and when we’re happy and excited we like doing a little shaking and stuff,” she said with a laugh. “He saw how happy it made me and that gave him the idea.”
Peko said he practiced the dance at home a couple of times before first unveiling it on an NFL field in early October.
“I wasn’t too worried,” he laughed. “Growing up on the mean streets of Whittier California (before moving to American Samoa) I was a big break dancer in my day. Sometimes I’ll have to do The Robot. I’ve got some pretty good dance moves.”
His wife agreed: “He was a good break dancer and he taught our middle one how to do it.”
Although his kids teased him about his dancing, he said when they go to school now their classmates come up and mimic him: “They say, ‘Look, I’m just like your dad.’”
The first time Anna saw him do it she laughed and at the same time was deeply moved.
“He was honoring me and my culture,” she said.
That means a lot to her, especially now with the deadly civil war back in Syria.
“We still have family there,” she said. “My mom’s whole side and some people from my dad’s are there, too. Our family is Christian so they’re on the road trying to flee. Some are hiding up in the mountains.
“Thank God for Facebook. As long as I can see that they post something once in a while, that means they’re still alive.”
She said what especially hurts her is that she can’t bring her husband and kids there to meet family members and show them the culture. “For the (foreseeable) future that isn’t possible,” she said quietly.
Instead her husband unleashes the occasional dance on the football field and while it signifies celebration, it also stirs remembrance.
Sunday night there was the possibility of even another dance rendition by the big Bengal.
Peko’s 31st birthday was last Friday and he was throwing a big birthday bash at a local nightclub. Anna and the kids handed out invitations to players as they came out of the stadium.
As one teammate walked past, Peko called out: “I might even do some break dancing tonight.”
And that needed no interpretation.
The Bengals are 9-2 and havin’ fun.
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