Sports Update
"I might draw a Polynesian symbol on my wrist band or padding, wear a little Polynesian tattoo, or maybe even put on an aloha shirt under my pads," said the 6-foot-6, 295-pound starter at defensive tackle for the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots.
"But I can tell you I'm going to come up with something because I take pride in being from Hawaii, and I love to hear the game broadcasters say the word."
Sagapolutele, a former resident of Kuhio Park Terrace who helped Pac-Five win an Oahu Prep Bowl championship in 1985, is the only player with Hawaii ties on either the Patriots or Green Bay Packers rosters.
"Coach (Bill) Parcells likes to call me 'Pineapple' but I told him to call me 'Coconut,' because 'Pineapple' sounds too soft," said Sagapolutele.
Not that he could ever be taken for soft.
The 27-year-old American Samoa-born Sagapolutele has been one of the main reasons the Patriots' defense has allowed barely nine points a game the past two months. His performance in the 20-6 AFC title game victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars was critical.
"You've got to be a man in there - you've got to be a beast," said Sagapolutele. "I get two guys who together weigh about 700 pounds coming at me and they can knock you into the secondary. I try to wedge between 'em, go down and make a pile so the other defenders can get through."
Sagapolutele said making a big play in the Super Bowl might prompt him to do a Polynesian war dance, or one of his other favorite moves: falling to one knee, throwing his head back and using his thumb to pantomine a slash on his throat.
"That's for a momentum-killing play," he said.
The booster club unveiled "Point, Rainbows" signs to encourage a cheer-along every time the home team scored. The turnstile crowd of 6,521, so familiar with the UH players, began mimicking Sivan Leoni's trademark grunt every time the Rainbow blocker went up for his jump serve.
Let's not overlook the Alan Hackbarth-Warren Epps Show, a carry over from Wahine volleyball, that turns the arena into the Pacific's largest karaoke room with the Macarena and YMCA.
It was easy to see why Hawaii might have forgot there was a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match to be won. After again handling UC San Diego easily in the first two games, watching the fans understandably proved to be more entertaining than watching the Tritons miss another serve.
The oversight could have been more costly than it was. Third-ranked Hawaii (2-0) finally sent UC San Diego off to the airport, prevailing 15-5, 15-7, 11-15, 15-10, after 2 hours and 5 minutes.