Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
HERE COMES SUPER HYPE SUNDAY
Who’s playing?
Who cares?
Hawaii doesn't have a pro
By Treena Shapiro
team, but fans get ready to
party and sports-bar
owners pray for OT
Star-BulletinSports Authority sold out its St. Louis Rams merchandise.
But it never stocked Tennessee Titans items.
"We never thought they would make it to the Super Bowl," manager Yukio Yukama said. "I guess we didn't really expect the Rams or Tennessee to make it."
Since Hawaii doesn't have its own professional team, the stores' buyers stock a little bit of everything, but by the time Tennessee became a contender, it was too late to get their logo items. Yukama said customers ask questions but aren't really concerned. "They don't really care because their team didn't make it."
Sports bars, restaurants and grocery stores are stocking up for huge parties when the two teams square off in the Super Bowl at about 1 p.m. tomorrow on KITV -- and they all need BEER.
In Hawaii, Paradise Distributors distributes most of the import brands, as well as domestics such as Coors and Miller. Asked how much beer was going to be drunk tomorrow, sales manager of Beer Division 2 Craig Nakatsukasa said, "It's just too much to fathom."
"This is the biggest selling time for beer, for the entire year," said Damien Bonenfant, vice president and general manager for Anheuser-Busch Sales of Hawaii. Super Bowl Sunday is the highest single day for beer sales, and with the company spending $27 million nationally for tomorrow's promotions, it better be.
Locally, promotions include Bud Girls and giveaways at some two dozen bars and restaurants. Nationally, Bill Gaeth, KITV vice president and sales manager, said viewers can expect to see a number of different Budweiser spots during the game.
"It's also the Super Bowl of advertising," Gaeth pointed out, noting that some of the more creative ads will debut that day.
Of roughly 70 spots, local advertisers will fill only nine 30-second positions.
"It's where the big boys play," Gaeth said. Each local spot costs $5,500; however, there's no other televised program that delivers half the market, he explained.
Bars and restaurants are banking on full houses during the game. Steck's Bar and Grill at Kahala Mall is opening an hour early so people can get good seats, although with a big-screen TV and two smaller sets added to the ten sets the restaurant had last year, the game will be visible from anywhere in the restaurant.
Pipeline Cafe, featuring one big screen in addition to 22 other TVs, spent $1,000 to promote its first Super Bowl since it opened last year.
"It's going to be pretty weird with the teams this year," said Gretchen Broderson, director of marketing. For example, the big giveaway items feature Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers and Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, not anyone from the Rams or Titans.
"I think in Hawaii there aren't a lot of Rams or Titans fans, but because it's a big event, I'm hoping people will be psyched to hang out and have a good time," Broderson said.
That's what the Shack in Hawaii Kai is expecting. Managing partner Andy Lindberg said last year's Super Bowl was one of the most profitable they've ever had.
"It was a blast," he said. Three people who bet for the losing team jumped off the restaurant's lanai and had to swim across Koko Marina.
Lindberg, a St. Louis native, said he's rooting for people to stay longer and spend more money. "As a bar owner, I always root for overtime," he said.
Sports card shops reported higher sales, but more due to next Sunday's Pro Bowl than to the Super Bowl.
Except for St. Louis quarterback Kurt Warner, there haven't really been any favorite players from either team.
"Everything Kurt Warner is selling well," said Oscar Peltier, owner of Kollectable Treasures.
But his big sales have been helmets and footballs to get autographed at the Pro Bowl.
At Best of the Best in Sportscards, Tennessee items seem to be selling better, although there's no favored player, said sales employee Kevin Goto. "I think the players are maybe less known, so people are buying more just to get autographs," he said.
Goto is rooting for the Rams. "They've been terrible for so long that I just want to see them win it," he joked.
