Hahaha, everyone likes Juumonji. From the way he's handled, I kinda wonder if the manga-ka's are grooming him to be the next captain. And Taki Natsuhiko is just a gas. He recently got his own shining moment in the SJ manga. (you played football? Then this is especially entertaining for you I imagine!)
I was re-reading the tankoubon the other day, and I picked up something I hadn't before (during the days of furigana-reading only). The America match against the Nasa Aliens (I laughed at seeing a NASA highschool) actually dealt with racism! (in this case, a caucasian coach treating the sole African-American like trash)
And yeah, I hear that the anime doesn't do justice to the manga at all.
Is that moment the "DELINQUENT DEATHBLOW" against Taiyo? That's awesome.
And the Nasa coach also said a lot of nasty things about the Japanese (something about them being monkeys that wipe America's ass).