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Sports Watch
NO running back ever terrorized the University of Hawaii defense more than Marshall Faulk when he played for San Diego State. Hawaii fans already
know Faulk wellIn three games against the Rainbows, Faulk ran for 687 yards and 13 touchdowns.
So when Faulk showed up this week for his fourth Pro Bowl in six years after setting an NFL record of 2,429 total yards in becoming only the second player to run and catch for 1,000 yards, Hawaii fans knowingly can say, "So, what's new?"
They had seen enough of Faulk against their Rainbows to know that he'd also tear it up on the highest level.
After winning rookie of the year honors with the Indianapolis Colts in 1994, Faulk showed up at Aloha Stadium again, thankfully not in an Aztec uniform this time.
He went on to gain a Pro Bowl record 180 yards on only 13 carries to lead the AFC to a 41-13 victory over the NFC to win MVP honors.
Again, no surprise.
What is it about Hawaii that seems to turn Faulk on, makes him such a running fool?
"I don't know," said Faulk, "but the fans are great here. They love their football." And Faulk loves to put on a show for them.
So does the NFL.
THAT'S why Honolulu has been home to the Pro Bowl since 1980 and will be through 2005 after a new contract extension yesterday.
Faulk was at the Ko Olina golf course yesterday, taking part in an NFL Charities Shoot-Out, sponsored by Ace Hardware, along with eight other stars, including Steve Young, Tim Brown, Rod Woodson and St. Louis Rams' teammate, Kurt Warner.
Ex-NFL star Marcus Allen drove by in a golf cart to congratulate Faulk. So did Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association.
This time, the congratulations weren't only for Faulk's NFL record or his fifth 1,000-yard season.
It was also for Faulk finally getting a Super Bowl championship ring to go with his shelf-full of individual honors.
"It's a dream come true, you know," said Faulk. "Not too many times you get traded, you get traded into a situation like this. I was fortunate."
After five years with the Colts, Faulk was traded to the Rams for two draft picks at the start of the 1999 season.
The rest, as they say, is history. Or history-making.
FAULK teamed up with Warner, the NFL and Super Bowl MVP, to record an amazing turnaround season for the St. Louis Rams.
"Kurt Warner for president," Faulk said, wrapping an arm around his quarterback.
"I wouldn't say he had an unbelievable year," Faulk said. "He made it believable. He just got better and better. He put in the work, and we're here."
The feeling's mutual with Warner.
"He's a special player. Without him, we wouldn't be the same team," Warner said.
"It's my job," Faulk said about his own heroics. "It's expected of me to do the things that I do."
He wasn't all that surprised that Dick Vermeil retired two days after the Super Bowl XXXIV victory over the Tennessee Titans.
"I guess he wanted to go out on top," Faulk said.
"They asked him to come in and turn the program around and that's what he did. His job was accomplished."
Faulk says the Rams aren't done with winning.
"Our team was made up of guys who, for a long time, were losers. They like winning, they like the respect they've getting. Some guys who are up (for free agency) who might want to stay and have fun with this."