Sidelines
SOME people are addicted to the show "Trading Spaces." Others love the drama and suspense of soap operas. A few even go for the fantasy storylines of fake wrestling. This soap opera’s
going on foreverMe? I've got "As the Turf Turns."
In yesterday's episode, The Chairman (played expertly by Larry Price) spent most of the show spelling out the reasons why a last-second installation of unknown new stuff would never work here, now, at Aloha Stadium. Then, in a cliffhanger twist, he and his group voted to go ahead and let it happen anyway -- but only if all their demands are met.
The Traveling Salesman (Fieldturf CEO John Gilman) took a "15-hour flight" to close the deal, instead finding himself pummeled by a verbal barrage of one-way humor, sarcasm and condescension -- only to end up getting what he wanted all along. Maybe.
And in true soap-opera style, a sizzling subplot emerged when a member of the committee (Michael Green) revealed that The Evil Twin had once again gotten into the official University of Hawaii stationery, casting shadows on The Wonderful Coach (both roles by June Jones).
Was that a gasp? The room murmured in shock. A scandal! At the head of the table, The Chairman could not fight back a smile.
(Perfect time to go to commercial.)
It's a good thing these Stadium Authority meetings are open to the public. You might think we make this stuff up.
It was quite a show, yesterday's meeting at Aloha Stadium. Lights. Camera. Action. And at the end of it, we're still not sure what happens next.
Gilman, when faced with the terms and conditions for placing Fieldturf in Aloha Stadium by the Authority's deadline -- Aug. 2 -- called the task "impossible."
Price only smiled and told him to start working on it.
Poor Gilman. The man never had a chance. It tells you how badly Fieldturf wanted to make this deal, that the CEO of the company flew 15 hours to make an impression in person. And then Price batted him around like a cat with a play toy.
Gilman seemed to bristle at times, but he took it. He had good reason to. "You get what you want," Price reminded him when Gilman protested the restrictions and timeline, and Price was right. Fieldturf very much wants to win this latest battle in its turf war with arch rival AstroTurf. It very much wants to say it has the Pro Bowl, that the NFL switched, that the best pros like it better.
That's why the CEO flew for 15 hours. That's why this deal is so good, so cheap, so fast. Fieldturf wants to make this deal now, get in the door and make this deal quickly.
Too quickly. Maybe you've been upset with Price and company (thanks to The Letter II, we now know for sure Jones has been) for not just rolling over and going along with the program. But yesterday Price pointed out what he called a "$2 million mistake" and Gilman blamed it on especially busy business and a "girl in the office." When under the gun and finally given the green light to make everything happen, Gilman backed off his original time estimate, adding 20 days.
"My math was wrong," Gilman admitted.
"Oh!" Price said, unable to contain his glee. "I do that all the time."
This is not to say that Gilman is not a completely honest individual, or that Fieldturf isn't a perfectly reliable company. But with a project of this magnitude, you do it right, you think it through, you ask tough questions. And the only people who have been asking questions, with too much attitude at times or no, are the Stadium Authority.
(An interesting side note. Suddenly, it is Fieldturf that says it needs more questions answered, that doesn't want to be pressured into making a quick decision. Smart move, yet deliciously ironic.)
You don't sign something without reading it.
That's how we got into this mess in the first place, after all. The Hawaii Tourism Authority made a deal with the NFL to change the surface at Aloha Stadium, with Fieldturf in mind. Unfortunately, this contract was worthless -- neither party bothered to figure out that it couldn't be done without permission of the Stadium Authority. And by then, we had a soap opera on our hands.
But now The Chairman has grudgingly approved -- with a whole new spin on it all. His rules. His way. Now it is Fieldturf that must go along with the program, that must conform to get things done. And time is running out. Time is slipping away.
Will The Traveling Salesman make it happen? Will The Chairman be the good guy after all? Will Victor ever come back to Nikki? Tune in next time, for the exciting conclusion ...
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com