Two athletes who performed mightily on international and national stages, Natasha Kai and Olin Kreutz, were inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday at a banquet at the Honolulu Country Club.
Kai helped the United States to the Olympic gold medal in soccer after a stellar career at the University of Hawaii and Kahuku High. She was a three-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
Kreutz played center for the Chicago Bears for 13 seasons and part of one for the New Orleans Saints, earning All-Pro honors four times. He led the Bears to the 2006 NFC Championship and the ensuing Super Bowl. He was an All-American at Saint Louis School and the University of Washington.
"I’m honored and humbled," Kreutz said. "I tried to represent Hawaii well my whole career. You don’t accomplish those things without amazing people around you. My family, my coaches, my training partners. Those are the reasons I’m here. You need people to help you up, kick you in the okole when you need it."
When Kreutz’s teammates and coaches with the Bears learned of Kreutz’s induction, they sent a letter to be read at Tuesday’s dinner.
"During my time as head coach, no one earned as much respect as Olin Kreutz," Lovie Smith said. "He was the ultimate leader."
Said linebacker Brian Urlacher: "Olin was one of the best teammates I’ve had the honor to play with. He helped me when I was a young player coming into the league. He lived in the weight room. He was the toughest guy I’ve ever been around."
Kai was an extremely versatile and talented performer at Kahuku, starring in volleyball, basketball, track and field and cross country, in addition to soccer.
"She played just about every sport there was," said her mother, Sharon.
After her time with the national team, Kai went on to play pro soccer and rugby.
Kai is coaching a club team in Las Vegas and could not attend the banquet. A video was shown from her time with the U.S. national team.
"I’m just here to open doorways for younger players," Kai said in the video. "I started from scratch. You can come from anywhere. You can come from New Hampshire. I came from Hawaii."
Her father, Benny, said he told Natasha not to come home if she and her teammates failed to win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. She scored a goal in overtime to lead the U.S. past Canada in the quarterfinals. The team went on to win gold.
"She knew I was joking. I hope she knew I was joking," Benny Kai said with a laugh. "She played like an animal. But in her heart, she’s a kind-hearted person."
