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The king of sports is about to kick off.
That’s right, the NFL season. The six-month-long grind starts Thursday.
As longtime colleague and UH beat writer Stephen Tsai said, “The NFL is everyone’s favorite team. People just love the NFL now.”
Whether it’s because of fantasy football or just plain enjoying watching elite talent and coaching, almost everyone has a favorite team.
As for me, it’s 49ers all day.
I was a faithful before the term “49er Faithful” was coined.
I once stood in line at 5 a.m. for preseason game tickets. I flew down while I was attending Oregon to see John Brodie’s last game. (He left with a shoulder injury and the fans unmercifully booed his replacement, Steve Spurrier.)
For many, following the 49ers is a generational thing, starting back to a few years after statehood.
Back then, the 49ers and the Rams were the only teams on the radio, and live sports on TV didn’t exist. NFL games were telecast on a six-day delay. Wrap your head around that.
The radio was Hawaii’s only connection to games. So that’s what my brother Randy and I did every Sunday while doing chores — listen to the 49ers get beat.
If anything, I was amused by the players’ names, which always seem to be a place or thing, like Howard Mudd, Roland Lakes, Dave Parks, John David Crow, and my favorite, Forrest Blue.
That continued even in the ’80s with Montana, Rice, Lott.
But what about now? Who’s Hawaii’s favorite NFL team? Who’s worthy of a cover story and who’s deserving of just a brief?
Well, I got the following opinions from some of Hawaii’s influential media members (I also asked who their favorite team is):
>> Bobby Curran, radio personality and voice of UH sports:
“I think the most popular team is the 49ers. … Well, I think they’ve been good for a long time, I think a lot of it started probably when a lot of people were young during the Joe Montana era and became fans of Joe Montana, Dwight Clark and that whole crew. I think now, that’s their team.
“My favorite team is the New York Giants because it’s always been. I was around from the Y.A. Tittle days. There was a time when my favorite receiver was Del Shofner.”
His least favorite team?
“The Dallas Cowboys, because who can stand the Dallas Cowboys? They’re evil. We’ve always thought they were evil. I have friends who are Washington fans, Philadelphia Eagles fans. We’re OK with each other. But we ALL hate the Cowboys. Nobody can stand the Cowboys in the NFC East.”
>> Rob DeMello, KHON2 sports director:
“Right now, it’s probably the Miami Dolphins, because of Tua (Tagovailoa) being the starting quarterback. … Most people in Hawaii are interested on Sundays to what the Miami Dolphins are doing because Tua’s the quarterback, like the same way when Marcus (Mariota) was the starting quarterback for the Titans.
“I grew up a Saints fan. When I was 5 years old I had a baseball coach that was from New Orleans and he used to wear a Saints hat to practice and I recognized the logo. So that was the first team I ever knew. So, I’m a Saints fan my whole life, but I’m a Las Vegas fan of everything. As soon as the Raiders moved to Vegas, that’s who I root for. And that goes for anything.
“I’m a (NHL Golden) Knights fan, WNBA Aces, anything Vegas. I’m a typical frequent visitor of the Ninth Island. That’s who I’m taking my kids to see. My buddy Paka (Bello) said it best, ‘loyal and faithful to the islands, and that includes the Ninth Island.’”
>> Kanoa Leahey, third generation sportscaster and play-by-play voice of UH pay-per-view games:
“As much as I would love to be able to say with confidence that it’s my Detroit Lions, I know better than that. I would probably venture a guess to say the San Francisco 49ers.
“I could have skewed vision of it. My dad (Jim) was a Niner fan and he tended to flock with other Niner fans, so I saw firsthand just how popular San Francisco was here. I feel like there were a lot of connections, with Jesse (Sapolu), and geographically speaking being a West Coast team. At least based on what I’ve experienced, the 49ers are pretty beloved here.
“I’m a proud and oftentimes disappointed Detroit Lions fans. I latched on to them as a kid when Barry Sanders went there. His star power was what led me to root for him, and as I learned about the Lions, learned their team colors were Honolulu blue, learned a little more about their history, there’ve been oftentimes Hawaii-born players that have made an impact with that franchise. … Charlie Ane, Rockne Freitas, all the way to Dominic Raiola.”
>> Stephen Tsai, UH beat writer:
“For several years it was any team Marcus Mariota was on, right? That one speech made the difference. That Heisman speech. That unified everybody. It was such an eloquent speech, well spoken, well representative, almost like a valedictorian-type of speech.
The NFL is everyone’s favorite team. People just love the NFL now.
“Oh, the Jets, I was born in N.Y. I liked innovation and something different and I thought Jets and Joe Namath with the long hair. He was a rock star. Whereas the Giants were so conservative. That’s the reason I’m a Mets fan, because they were fun and different, they were the lovable losers. The Yankees felt like cooperate America.
>> Stephanie Lum, TV personality and Hawaii News Now evening anchor:
“Can I give two teams? I heard a lot about the Raiders … and I’m gonna say, Cowboys.
“For the Raiders, it’s because of (HNN morning anchor) Steve Uyehara. He’s a huge fan and also because we often see a lot of comments on social media with Hawaii residents cheering on the Raiders. And when we announced they were gonna move to Las Vegas, there was a lot of excitement amongst Hawaii residents.
“As far as the Cowboys go, I just know from growing up from little kid times, there were a lot Hawaii residents back in the day that really liked the Cowboys. I don’t know if that has faded. My brother is a big fan of the Cowboys still.
“I would say the Seattle Seahawks would be my favorite, because that’s my old stomping grounds, Seattle, Wash. That’s where I went to school, Seattle University.”
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