KANOA Leahey thinks about his beloved dad even more than usual these days. Jim Leahey, the middle man in Hawaii’s iconic three-generation sportscasting family, died Jan. 30, 2023.
Sure, the impending one-year anniversary of Jim’s passing has a lot to do with it. But there’s something else, something happening today.
“This matchup … it is pretty cool and quite the coincidence,” Kanoa said Friday. “We’d be borderline beefing over this matchup.”
Like many people in Hawaii, Jim Leahey was a lifelong fan of the San Francisco 49ers, who play the Detroit Lions today for the NFC championship and a spot in the Super Bowl.
And, for no apparent — but soon to be explained — reason, Kanoa Leahey has enjoyed rooting for the Lions since small kid time.
Actually, Kanoa has more often endured it than enjoyed it. Before this season, Detroit has been rarely good, mediocre some years, and mostly bad-to-horrible since most football fans can remember. The last time they won the NFL championship there was no such thing as a Super Bowl.
The 49ers, though, have won five Super Bowls in seven appearances since Kanoa was born in 1977.
“What I think about most is we were known to go back-and-forth, poking fun at each other about our favorite teams,” Kanoa said. “How much fun would we have now? There’d be a lot of screaming, and a lot of expletives.
“I’m sure that in some capacity he will be with us watching this game. It is poetic to a degree. Hopefully, Pop’s spirit is in a generous mood.”
If Jim has any control over the way the funny-shaped ball bounces today at Levi’s Stadium, perhaps it can be of benefit to the boys in Honolulu blue … especially when you consider Lions reserve defensive lineman Tyson Alualu and Jim are both Saint Louis School graduates.
“Right? Come on, share the wealth, Pops,” Kanoa said, with a laugh.
The question remains, though: How did someone born and raised on Oahu with no connection to Detroit end up with the Lions as his team?
“I was a huge Barry Sanders fan,” Kanoa said. “When he came out of college I was around the age when kids pick a favorite team. As I delved into it further, the team color being Honolulu blue was the coolest thing ever to me.”
Things looked at least somewhat promising in 1991, two seasons after Sanders was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Lions went 12-4 and beat the Cowboys 38-6 in the playoffs before losing to the Redskins 41-10 in the NFC title game.
Detroit returned to the playoffs the next five years in a row as a wild-card team — and never won.
Those were great times compared to 2000-22, when the Lions got to the postseason just three times and ran their playoffs losing streak to nine games. The lowest point was 2008, when they went 0-16.
Kanoa remained loyal through all of it.
“I always felt like there was a palpable connection between Hawaii and the Lions,” he said. “Little did I know it would introduce years and years of angst to my life.”
He knew or got to know Lions players from Hawaii.
Rockne Freitas, who played 10 seasons with Detroit, was close friends with Jim, enough so that he was Uncle Rock to Kanoa.
Before Dominic Raiola played 219 games as the Lions center from 2001 to 2014, he played baseball for the Pirates in the Kalanianaole Little League, against Kanoa, who was on the Twins.
“A lot of teams have (players with Hawaii ties), but for some reason the Lions have had high-profile players from Hawaii in their history,” said Kanoa, counting also Charlie Ane, who was All-Pro and on the last Detroit team to win the NFL championship, in 1957.
“I don’t know if it’s the rebel in me, and I usually didn’t stray too far from pathways of my dad and grand dad (Chuck Leahey),” Kanoa said. “When you grow up in Hawaii you view the world through the lens of the underdog. Sometimes we feel we’re dismissed, because we’re so far from the action. Almost by default you’re for the underdog.”
Kanoa quickly rattled off names of other Hawaii-connected mane men: Jahlani Tavai, Ikaika Alama-Francis, Greg Salas, Jordon Dizon.
The alumni list might be longer than that of legit long-suffering local Lions loyalists. If that’s too many L’s, put yourself in their place.
“I can definitely count, on two hands, the Lions fans in Hawaii that I personally know,” Kanoa Leahey said. “And there’s a lot of texting between us every Sunday.”
