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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Korff hopes to wow
people with latest ideaJOHN Korff was running stairs, because he is the kind of guy who runs stairs. He was climbing floors the hard way at the Sheraton Waikiki when he came up with his latest crazy great idea. Korff is a sports promoter known for doing things differently, and so it is no surprise that this was when and how he came up with this kind of brainstorm.
"I was trying not to throw up," he said.
But then it hit him.
Why not see if the U.S. Olympic Team Trials triathlon would come here, where he was, to Honolulu? It would be perfect.
"Do I do this?" he said.
He did, putting in an application without telling anybody.
And of course you know the rest by now. Hawaii got it. The big race will be April 18 in Waikiki, beating out Cleveland and Florida and Tempe. In at least one small way, the Olympics are coming to town.
"It's big," Mayor Jeremy Harris said at the official announcement in August. "We're on the radar screen now."
But Korff's brain hasn't stopped yet.
He proposed an Olympic torch relay that would run island to island, leading up to the triathlon. Why not?
"We want to bring as much Olympicness to this as we can," he said.
He envisions a grand medal ceremony at the end of the day as part of a "Sunset on the Beach."
This is the kind of event Korff puts on. He has experience with these things, which helped him get the bid. He's perhaps most renowned for his tennis exhibitions, which have combined sport with concerts and cooking contests, anything to get fans in the door.
He once, famously, introduced Anna Kournikova's arrival on the court with the song "Short Shorts."
When Honolulu got the bid, Korff gave Harris an "official team uniform." A Speedo with the mayor's name on it. Korff said the Hawaii Tourism Authority has signed on, too.
(While at Harvard Business School, SI.com tells us, Korff learned sports promotion firsthand from legendary tennis character Ion Tiriac, who mentored Korff between bets and sit-up contests.)
"He ate a glass," Korff said yesterday of Tiriac, still loving the story, still in awe.
In this Olympic Trial, the real thing will be preceded by an age-group all comers race, so everyday athletes can compete on the same course as their heroes. Where else can you actually do the world-class event you're about to watch?
There will be a play-by-play of the trial over a loudspeaker, bleachers and rock-and-roll bands along the way.
"We're probably making a bigger deal out of this race than any other city for a trial," Korff said.
But, he figured, so will U.S. Olympic officials, who would rather watch a triathlon in Honolulu than attend the wrestling trials in Indiana.
Already, he said, competitors are trickling in, starting to familiarize themselves with the course. "I rode my (okole) off on my bike trying to show them where to go," he said.
So the ideas are sure to keep coming. He wants you to call him with yours, at 630-1950. This could be the biggest event yet. "We want people to go 'wow,' " he said.
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Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com
