Michelle Wie has come a long way, and probably has a long way to go. If she remains healthy and motivated, the 24-year-old winner of the U.S. Women’s Open could continue winning golf tournaments, including majors, for at least another 15 years.
She’s the first winner of an American major from Hawaii. And for at least a few local sports fans, that’s enough to propel her into the top 10 of all-time athletes from the islands.
But in the context of the state’s rich and diverse history of sports greats, most who responded to an unscientific social media survey indicate there are many other athletes more deserving of a ranking.
I didn’t require adherence to any strict rules about being born here or attending school here.
You could be an Olympic champion weightlifter from California who settled here, like Tommy Kono.
You could even have one of those fake-looking birth certificates.
The only criteria is athletic greatness however you want to define it, and being from Hawaii however you want to define it.
It’s hard to argue with this list:
1. Duke Kahanamoku (swimming, surfing).
2. Bryan Clay (decathlon).
3. Jesse Sapolu (football).
4. Herman Wedemeyer (football).
5. Shane Victorino (baseball).
6. Akebono (sumo)
7. Derek Tatsuno (baseball).
8. Sid Fernandez (baseball).
9. Tommy Kaulukukui (football).
10. Olin Kreutz (football).
That’s the way Hawaii sports fans on my Facebook page ranked them; I awarded 10 points for a first-place vote and worked it down to 1 for 10th.
Wie was among 33 athletes getting votes from 20 voters, with three fans ranking her in the top 10. Some left her out because they don’t consider golfers to be athletes.
Funny, though, some consider pro wrestling a sport and voted for Dwayne Johnson. I’m pretty liberal at what I consider a sport, and whom I consider athletes. But if we’re going to consider "The Rock" for this list we have to consider other actors, like Jason Scott Lee and Tia Carrere. They perform according to scripts, too. If pro wrestlers are athletes, so are trapeze artists.
My personal list goes like this:
1. Kahanamoku.
2. Clay.
3. Sapolu.
4. Victorino.
5. Eddie Aikau (surfing).
6. Wedemeyer.
7. Kaulukukui.
8. Carissa Moore (surfing).
9. Fernandez.
10. Kreutz.
These lists are fluid. When Wie wins her next major, she probably moves into my top 10. Victorino and Moore are still active, so more world championships for them and they could move up. If the recently retired Kreutz becomes the first Hawaii-reared NFL Hall of Famer, he climbs a notch or two.
I was surprised Colt Brennan and Manti Te’o didn’t get a few more votes. If this vote was done in 2008 Brennan would’ve been first or second; same for Te’o in early 2012.
That’s why this kind of thing doesn’t get old … it changes with the times.
No two lists are the same, and there are no bad answers (except for pro wrestlers).
The more you know about sports in Hawaii, the more challenging it is paring it down to 10.
Let ‘er rip …
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. Read his blog at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.
