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Sarah Barshop
WAILUKU, Hawaii — WHEN LOS ANGELES Rams receiver Puka Nacua stepped off the plane in Maui on Monday for mandatory minicamp, he was greeted by a member of the welcoming committee with a big hug and a “thank you so much for everything you do for the Polynesian community.”
Nacua, whose Polynesian background has made him beloved in Hawaii, said practicing in Maui for minicamp “feels like home.”
The Rams traveled to Maui for minicamp in part for team bonding and to help a community affected by devastating wildfires nearly two years ago. The traveling party included approximately 500 people, including players, coaches, team staff, as well as any family members who wanted to come.
The trip, head coach Sean McVay said, was about “connection,” not only between those on the team but also between those in the Rams’ organization and a Hawaiian community still recovering from the fires in Maui in 2023.
“It’s about connection and being able to get some time,” McVay said. “It’s cool to be able to really, for me, meet a lot of these guys’ families that maybe I haven’t met quite yet or see their wives or girlfriends or their kids, and so that’s been a really cool thing so far.
“This is about being able to get some good quality time with each other and then being able to use the platform that we’re blessed with to be able to get back to a community that went through some similar things that we can all understand and kind of empathize with, and you see how excited they are to see our players and that’s fun.”
THE RAMS’ RELATIONSHIP with Hawaii goes back many years, and several members of the local community at the team luau Monday night noted they remembered the kids camps several Rams players held during the 1970s.
More recently, the Rams began broadcasting preseason games across the Hawaiian Islands in 2018 and played a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu in 2019. Last offseason, the Rams began to discuss a partnership with the Hawaii Tourism Authority, with the idea of holding the team’s mandatory minicamp in Maui.
After the Maui wildfires in August 2023, the Rams dedicated a preseason game to raise money for American Red Cross relief efforts for those in need.
Last month, Rams team president Kevin Demoff said the commitment to holding minicamp in Maui was just for this year, but quarterback Matthew Stafford said he would enjoy seeing it continue.
“I’ve had a blast,” Stafford said. “That’s kind of above my pay grade; those people that make those decisions will figure that out, but we’ve had a good time. I know our team has enjoyed the experience, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
At Tuesday’s practice, the Rams’ offensive players took part in a girls’ flag football camp on one field while the defense hosted a boys’ tackle football clinic on the other field. Davante Adams was part of a group working on routes with the girls flag football players.
“I feel like it’s almost for me because I’m having a good time and connecting with the kids,” Adams said. “… It’s just a cool way to connect and show appreciation for them for allowing us to be here. And they’ve gone through a lot recently too, so it’s just good to bring some positivity to them.”
At the same time, the Rams’ rookie class went to Lahaina to join Habitat for Humanity Maui as it rebuilt four homes in an area affected by the wildfires.
Demoff said the Rams have seen “the enthusiasm and gracious welcome from the community.”
“So many people [are] excited about the Rams being here,” Demoff said. “What it means for the kids who we worked with on the field yesterday, the people in the stands, and watching the entire community light up around the NFL team coming and spending the week with them here in Maui and helping them not only rebuild but just give them a spark of joy and confidence.”
WHEN ADAMS JOINED the Rams this offseason, one thing that stood out to him was the “college-type of camaraderie” that exists in the organization.
Adams said he found “it took a little more time for me to get integrated into the Jets team than it did getting here,” while acknowledging that he joined the Jets during the season and didn’t have the benefit of an offseason with his new teammates.
The Rams hope that bond is continuing to strengthen in Maui, “whether it’s the 30 or 40 players who were in the ocean together yesterday, the karaoke videos I’ve seen, watching the players hula dance at the luau together on Monday night,” Demoff said. “Just unbelievable team bonding.
“I think that will set a foundation for the season, as we come back into training camp and hopefully have the chance for a longer year. But it’s rare you get the entire team in a relaxed environment where they can go spend a night together going out without, and they have their families here, but they don’t have the other responsibilities that come at home of everything else you have to do. And so I think the team unity, the team bonding, along with just the immense support we’ve had for the Maui community have left a mark on all of us.”
The Rams are especially well-equipped to grow their relationship with Hawaii because they have a Polynesian star in Nacua. The receiver’s popularity among the crowd showed early and often during his time in Maui.
As he ran onto the field Wednesday at War Memorial Stadium, the crowd roared. In front of thousands, Nacua raced from one side of the field to the other, running along the far bleachers and high-fiving fans in the front row before returning to the practice field.
When asked about the Polynesian players he grew up watching, Nacua listed quarterback Marcus Mariota, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.
When asked what it feels like to know that one day the fans and high school football players watching him in the stands in Maui might one day be putting him in the same conversation, Nacua said, “It doesn’t feel real.”
“I’m having a blast,” Nacua said. “And it doesn’t feel real sometimes that people are wearing my jersey, but I hope that they carry the things that are part of our culture: respect to have the honor and the discipline to represent your family, but also those things carry and translate directly into football.”
Stafford called the chance to practice in Maui “a unique opportunity,” saying the team will hopefully inspire some young Puka Nacuas.
“It’s such a reciprocal relationship,” Demoff said. “… Watching him at the autograph signing yesterday with lines out the door, watching his reception here, watching him give his chain to the girl playing flag football, he’s obviously the biggest star we have on the team for this community.
“But then I think for the people here, it’s a reminder that they can become the next Puka Nacua and the fact that the team is here, whether it was girls’ flag football or the guys’ high school teams that they were interacting with yesterday. I think seeing someone like Puka gives them hope of what they can become and a role model to aspire to when you see how genuine he is, the way he interacts with them with heart and intention, it only makes the whole story better.”
