Tatupu is at home on an island

HONOLULU — Perhaps Lofa Tatupu didn't really know what he was in for as he walked off the turf at Aloha Stadium after a Pro Bowl practice earlier this week.

"Watch this," he said in passing. "I'll take off my jersey and no one will know who I am."

Had it been Seattle or somewhere else on the mainland United States, that might have been true for the Seahawks linebacker. But this is Hawaii, home to many nations of island people.

Island people, or locals as they are called in Hawaii, know their sports heroes with island roots. Tatupu, who is of Samoan ancestry, was raised in Massachusetts for the most part, and had only been to Hawaii a few times to see family when he was younger. But the people know him and recognize him in a way Tatupu might never feel in the continental U.S.

It was Family Day at the stadium Saturday, as the public was invited to Pro Bowl practices and on-field festivities. And there was Tatupu being the media darling, a guy who might as well be family to several Hawaiians outside of his own relatives who live in the state.

Tatupu Seahawks jerseys are displayed in storefronts. Tatupu's father Mosi, a former NFL player, is still well known in Hawaii. Just having Tatupu on the team seems to have made the Seahawks a popular team on Oahu, judging by the Seahawks gear being worn. Even Pete Papalii, a guy who runs a Samoan clothing and music booth at the Aloha Stadium weekend swap meet, wore his blue Tatupu jersey proudly as he hawked lavalavas (Samoan men's traditional garments) and Samoan Pride T-shirts.

"You can't come out here and not have fun," Tatupu said. "I'm just happy to be here."

Mosi Tatupu, a high-school star at private Punahou School in Honolulu, traveled from Massachusetts to be with his son for this afternoon's Pro Bowl. The plan for earlier in the week was to re-introduce 23-year-old Lofa to members of his father's side of the family.

"There's a hundred of them," Mosi said. "Some are kind of extended family, but they're all family. Because he's done so well, they want to see him, touch him and get to know him. He pretty much grew up in Boston. But we always came out here to visit with [Mosi's] Mom and Dad and family."

As a kid, Lofa enjoyed his visits, playing with his cousins on the beach, Mosi recalled. There would be big pig roasts and family gatherings.

Mosi tried to make it a point to keep his son connected to his Polynesian roots. And today he is a proud father with a hint of a New England accent in his speech.

One can also hear the Hawaiian accent in his words.

"I can do my pidgin when I come over here, too," he said.

Lofa Tatupu isn't the only Pro Bowl player of Samoan descent who is the object of the islanders' affections these days. Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, who is from Oregon, can hardly do anything by himself.

Polamalu was mobbed by a group of youth football players at the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge Friday, kids who recognized him instantly. He couldn't even shop at the swap meet without a security detail, accepting greetings and warm embraces.

On Friday, the Tatupus were asked to record a promo for a local television sports segment. Father and son struggled to get the words right, laughing when one of them botched a word on the cue card.

It was one of those family moments they can both treasure.

Tatupu maintains that the only way people recognize him is if they look at his face long enough to find a resemblance.

"If they do, they just see the face," Lofa said, peering over at his dad. "They see the resemblance from him.

"What's nice is that people [in Hawaii] actually pronounce your name correctly. Tah-too-poo. That's what I found to be the best part," Lofa added. "When you're in Seattle, you hear Taputu, Tatatupa, Tataputu. Anything you can imagine. Over here, they got it all down."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com