Historic Lahaina was absolutely destroyed.
It’s fair to say sports are of little consequence in times of massive loss. Some people on Maui found respite in high school football, however, after a massive wildfire devastated part of the island and left Lahaina unrecognizable. Nearly 3,000 homes were destroyed and an estimated $6 billion in damages were suffered in the August fire, with many of those displaced people attached in one way or another to Lahainaluna High School, which sits on a hill above the town. Its scenic location has made Friday night football games iconic, coupled with a powerhouse program that won four state titles between 2016 and 2019. All this has added up to making Lunas football a massive point of pride around Lahaina in the same way that we hear of high school football in the heartlands of Texas or Oklahoma.
You can imagine how big of a deal it was when nearly 5,000 people showed up to watch their local team take the field nearly two months after the fire, kicking off the 2023 season with many of Lahainaluna’s players among those whose homes had been burnt down and their lives upended.
“If they can get on the field and find some normalcy in their life then I can do the same,” Heather Filikitonga, a 2001 graduate and mother of a current junior varsity player told the Associated Press back in October.
The Lunas put together a 5-1 record on a shortened 2023 season but their return to the field became a notable sign of hope for a recovering community. It brought people back together on Friday nights and gave them all something familiar to cheer for together. The National Football League is recognizing that impact at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas this week and has named members of the team and its coaches as honorary coin-toss captains. Coaches Dean Rickard (co-head coach), Garret Tihada (associate head coach) and Bobby Watson (former head coach) will join players Morgan “Bula” Montgomery, Teva Loft, Kaulana Tihada and Kuola Watson at midfield before the big game for the ceremonial coin toss preceding kick-off.
“Amidst the devastation, the resilience of the Lahainaluna High School football team emerged as a source of inspiration and rallying point for the broader community of Lahaina, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. Through the support of the local community and the school, the Lahainaluna football team was able to rally together and complete their shortened season, successfully advancing to the state’s championship high school football playoffs,” the NFL said in a statement.
According to Maui News, the “overwhelming theme” from the athletes making the trip to Las Vegas is that this opportunity will generate more awareness for Maui’s fire relief efforts. The school is part of an ongoing LunaStrong fundraising effort and there’s really no bigger stage in the world than the Super Bowl. As of 2023, the Super Bowl was the eighth most-watched sporting event in the world, drawing over 115 million viewers. But it’s also just a single event held on a single afternoon, whereas viewership totals for events like the Olympics or FIFA World Cup are comprised of several individual contests over the course of weeks.
