Once again the contract linking the Pro Bowl to Hawaii is up for renewal since this is the last year of the current deal. The off-field action is a lot more serious than anything you’ll see from the players at practices or even at Aloha Stadium this Sunday.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie has already reversed his field a few times, mixing stiff arms and hip fakes. But is he making any positive yardage? Funny thing is, he’s not even directly involved in the negotiations; that’s up to Hawaii Tourism Authority leaders Mike McCartney and David Uchiyama.
The Nice Guy Gov prefers to call the talks "conversation," in reference to extending a longtime mutually beneficial relationship. Just some chatting among old friends.
The Tough Guy Gov, however, refers to the NFL as "the owners" and questions the league’s commitment to keeping the game here.
While it’s a far cry from the rants of last June, when he said the state was "stupid" to invest millions in the NFL, is Abercrombie as fully on board as he indicated Tuesday afternoon?
A source said "there’s still some work to do" in that area. We’re getting mixed messages, and so is the NFL.
In a TV interview Tuesday morning, Abercrombie said "nobody likes to have a gun put to their head" and used the term "extract money" when asked about Hawaii’s status with the NFL and the Pro Bowl. He said he wants a "genuine partnership."
That would be great. But if a "genuine partnership" means a 50-50 split and no $4 million rights fee? Bye-bye Pro Bowl.
I just can’t see the NFL caving, not when it looks like a high-speed game of chicken — with Abercrombie in that little yellow Checker cab he used to campaign in, going up against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell piloting the Madden Cruiser.
The Pro Bowl’s annual Tuesday news conference rarely generates anything close to news. But a very organized "impromptu" interruption changed all that, as Abercrombie was ushered in among an army of security and public relations people. McCartney and Uchiyama were on the scene, too.
This time we got the supportive governor.
"We’ve had an excellent relationship with the Pro Bowl over the years and we want to continue that," he said.
In comments afterward, Abercrombie said he wants to be "crystal clear" that he is pro-Pro Bowl and NFL … even talking about other events like preseason and regular season games.
Not a new idea, but worth looking at again, considering the St. Louis Rams just agreed to play games in London the next three seasons.
First things first though … a new contract for the Pro Bowl. Although we hear 2013 is not a done deal for New Orleans, Pro Bowl attendees will more likely be doing their partying in the French Quarter than Waikiki next year, in advance of the Super Bowl at the same site.
Of course Abercrombie is right when he points out that the state has big money problems, and you have to be careful with every dollar invested.
On Tuesday morning, he questioned if the Pro Bowl fits in the big equation, for the NFL or Hawaii. By Tuesday afternoon, he was full-speed ahead.
In a few hours, he’d once again gone from kicking okole to kissing okole.
Shifting course is often good and often necessary. But unless we don’t want future Pro Bowls, we can’t afford any more public changes in direction from our top elected official.
Get the first down. Let the negotiators secure at least the 2014 game and work from there.
