He wears a Gilligan hat, orange T-shirt and plaid Bermuda shorts. The kind of shorts so out of style they’re back in. Couldn’t be an agent in that get-up. Nor a scout or coach … no logo gear. Former player? Doubt it, doesn’t look big enough.

This guy’s about as non-descript as they get. Must be a tourist who got off at the wrong bus stop and slipped through the security for Pro Bowl practice at Kapolei High School. Now he’s trying to find someone to give him directions back to Waikiki.

But wait a second, he knows all the big shots here, and the guys in military uniforms, too. And, then, as you watch him watch, you realize his demeanor is one of complete understanding of what’s going on in front of him.

Like a coach. Or a quarterback.

Then my friend, Scott Culbertson, kills the suspense.

"That’s Jim McMahon."

Sweet. For a sports columnist Jim McMahon is manna from heaven, or somewhere else.

If there was ever an anti-hero in University of Hawaii sports lore, it’s the punky QB they call McMahon. He’s Danny Ainge, Chris Herren and Marshall Faulk all rolled into one.

When he was at BYU he broke 70 NCAA records and the heart of every UH football fan. He didn’t just possess swagger, he invented it.

And he wouldn’t only beat you with his arm, he’d do it with his foot, too — the wrong foot. The play everyone remembers is his left-footed punt, 33 yards to the Rainbows 1.

Bring it up and he laughs.

"I love coming to Hawaii, I always had a lot of fun here. And I had a lot of friends from Hawaii at BYU."

Then the NFL, where he became the front man of a Chicago Bears outfit so brash, loud and outlandish they make today’s New York Jets seem like Carthusian monks.

The guy who now looks like your dad’s fishing buddy used to rock eyeglasses more fab and extensive than Elton John’s collection, and had a headband to irritate the commissioner for every occasion. He arrived at his first Bears public appearance with a cold brew in his hand.

McMahon’s swashbuckling style off the field was kind of misleading; on it he was more of a game manager with the stones to change Mike Ditka’s plays: Remember, he did carry a briefcase around sometimes (though usually with nothing in it other than a snack). He had Walter Payton and one of football’s greatest defenses to rely upon.

It’s hard to believe he’s 51 now. What’s he doing at Pro Bowl practice?

McMahon points to a man with one arm, and another with a badly burned face.

"I’m here for them," he says.

IT’S SAID HIS memory is shot, but McMahon has total recall of some important things.

"My folks met when my dad was in the service, Korean War veteran," he says. "I grew up in Northern California and remember when the guys would come back from Vietnam through San Francisco. People would spit on them, and I never understood that. Those guys were giving it up for us."

So he works with the Impact a Hero and Wounded Warriors programs to help today’s veterans.

"Somebody’s got to do it," he says. "Our government sure isn’t."

Sometimes he doesn’t wait for the soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen to come home. He goes to them. "I was in Iraq three years ago" he says. "And I was there when they hung Saddam. I wasn’t in the room, but I was pretty close."

What does he get out of it, besides the satisfaction of helping those who have sacrificed so much?

"They let me fly F-16s, B-1 bombers. I’ve driven every tank there is," he says, like a kid telling you what he got for Christmas.

The wild-eyed glee quickly disappears when you ask for his take on current Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s toughness. Talk about bad body language; McMahon’s face suddenly looks like he took a bite out of a 25-year-old tuna sandwich from that briefcase.

"I’ve met him, but I don’t really know him," McMahon says, shaking his head. "I don’t know, maybe some guys can’t stand pain. You know, if it was me you’d have to drag my (butt) off the field."

Don’t let the middle-age tourist garb fool you. That guy over there really is Jim McMahon.

Reach Star-Advertiser sports columnist Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com, his "Quick Reads" blog at staradvertiser.com and twitter.com/davereardon.