LEFT, COURTESY CHICAGO BEARS; RIGHT, COURTESY TOM ALBERT / DETROIT LIONS
Chicago's Olin Kreutz, left, and Detroit's Dominic Raiola both went to St. Louis School and are NFL centers.
The relationship between Olin Kreutz of the Chicago Bears and Dominic Raiola of the Detroit Lions could be the model for a sitcom. Front and center
in the NFC NorthChicago's Kreutz and Detroit's
UH football notebook
Raiola are best friends despite
playing on rival NFL teamsBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comTough and serious on the job. Fun-loving, loyal pals away from work.
For theatrical purposes, they could share the same house halfway between Motown and the Windy City and have a vacation home here in Hawaii. They'd be laughing it up and hanging out together in the offseason, and then they'd put on their game faces in that wild animal park also known as the NFL when the season rolled around.
Far-fetched? Perhaps.
They're not roommates, but Kreutz and Raiola are the best of friends, and that's why it still amazes them that they're starting centers on different teams in the same tradition-rich black-and-blue division.
They grew up in the same Aina Haina valley and followed similar paths from St. Louis School to college to the NFL.
"The highlight of my season was standing in the stadium across the field from my great friend," Kreutz said of the two times Chicago played Detroit this year. "It's an awesome feeling. One game, my mom and dad were there with his mom and dad. That was really something."
Without a doubt, Raiola's biggest moment of the season was playing on the same field as Kreutz.
Both players are determined to win their final few games to put happy endings on dismal campaigns. The Bears are 4-10 and the Lions are 3-11, and both are battling the 4-10 Vikings for second place in the NFC North.
Raiola, the former Nebraska star, thinks it would be great if Detroit and Chicago finish in a tie. Kreutz, a former standout at Washington and a fifth-year pro, doesn't care which team finishes higher.
For all the similarities, their 2002 experiences have been strikingly different. Raiola rose from a backup role as a rookie to a starter this season, while Kreutz watched his team go from contenders to doormats.
"I came into camp battling somebody (Eric Beverly) for the job and I really wanted to earn it," Raiola said. "Then, I wanted to prove I was deserving of being a starter, striving to be consistent so as to not lose the job. Now, I'm kind of past that."
In other words, Raiola has arrived.
"Dominic is playing at a high level," Kreutz said. "I've watched him a lot against the same guys I'm playing against, and he's going to be a good veteran NFL center. He's really coming along."
A Pro Bowl choice last year, Kreutz doesn't place blame anywhere else than squarely on his shoulders for the Bears' poor showing.
"At 4-10, we're playing terrible and I'd rate my own performance terrible," he said. "The team is not getting it done and I'm not getting it done. We went 4-12, 4-12 and 6-10 in my first three years, but this time around is bad because of the expectations coming off a great (13-3) season."
Bears offensive line coach Bob Wylie doesn't see a slide in Kreutz's performance.
"Olin has kept the same level of play as he did last year, if not better," Wylie said. "He plays like he's defending the island."
Raiola and Kreutz speak to each other at least once a week on the phone, and the conversation turns to football only when it's time to share information on common opponents.
"We talk about what other guys are doing, so we can help each other out," Raiola said. "Sometimes he'll pick out something and I'll get something out of it, and sometimes I'll pick out something and he'll get something out of it."
Although he's seriously disappointed, Kreutz, who turned down a lucrative offseason contract offer from Miami and remained loyal to the Bears, doesn't dwell on the negativity of the losing season.
"It's not like life or death," said Kreutz, who recovered from a midseason appendectomy. "I'm starting in the NFL every Sunday, so life could be a lot worse. I'm standing out there at places like Lambeau Field. Not everyone can say they're doing that.
"Obviously, we're trying to win our last few games. That would help a lot. We'll worry about next year, next year. After we take some time off and clear our minds, we can work on turning it around."
Despite the Lions' losing record, Raiola doesn't look at the team's effort as futile, and he's optimistic about the future.
"The attitude of this team is very positive," he said. "We fight every game and we've been in a lot of close games. We beat New Orleans when they were undefeated early in the season; we should have beaten Minnesota and we had a chance to beat Buffalo, the Packers, Arizona and Tampa Bay. It gives us a lot of confidence, but it's no consolation because we're losing.
"I really think that one day we'll turn it around, win some games and go a lot farther. This organization, with a new field and new top-of-the-line facilities, is on the right track."
After the season, Kreutz and Raiola will fly home to Hawaii on the same plane. Together, they'll work out, hang out, compete on PlayStation and go to dinner, among other things; just two Hawaii-born guys, wearing different shades of NFL blue and getting reacquainted with the tropical sun before going back to cracking some heads on Sundays.
"What A Life." Sounds like a sitcom.
National Football League
