Bears Bring Local Boy to the Superbowl

When the country comes together to watch the Chicago Bears take on the Indanapolis Colts in Miami for the 41st Superbowl, people in Hawaii have a local boy to root for: Olin Kreutz.

Kreutz, 29, is a center for the Chicago Bears — one of the team’s two most senior members, in fact. He was born and raised in Hawaii, and still lives here with wife Wendi and their two kids when he’s not in Chicago playing ball. Kreutz lettered in football at Saint Louis School, and was also on the Saint Louis wrestling and track teams. His senior year, he was team captain, and meanwhile also won the Hawaii State Wrestling Heavyweight Championship. He went on to play college ball at the University of Washington, and joined the Bears in 1998.

He’s got a reputation for being big and tough, and while a center is usually not the most glamourous of positions on a team, some are saying Kreutz could be key in Miami tomorrow. Charles Bricker, a sportswriter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, says that Kreutz could hold the key to victory — describing him as “the dominent center of our time” and a good candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

So if you tune in for the big game, or just for the big game commercials, be sure to keep an eye out for Number 57.