SUMMARY
- Lahainaluna High School football team got a lot of popularity after their Super Bowl LVIII appearance.
- The team didn't just appear for the game, but also had the great honor of service in a huge role at Super Bowl LVIII.
The National Football League is among the most popular leagues around the world, and its fan base is second to none. Every season a total of 32 franchises compete to emerge as the winners of the NFL, but only two of them can reach the Super Bowl, and then one of them wins.
In the final of NFL’s 2023 season, Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers were the teams in Super Bowl LVIII, and the game was one of the most hyped one’s in recent memory. The ultimate title was on the line, but even before the game began, a graphic on the screen grabbed the attention of the viewers.
In the initial moments of the streaming, a team name, “Lahainaluna HS Football Team,” was mentioned on the screen, and it left everyone uncertain about where it is. Alongside this, several names were also shown to the viewers, so let’s check out everything about them.
Lahainaluna High School is a 9-12 grade school in Lahaina, Hawaii, and the football team of this school was given the honor to join as coin toss captains at Super Bowl LVIII. Moreover, the names that were mentioned under the team name were people who are associated with the school in one way or another.
The names were Dean Rickard (co-head coach), Bobby Watson (former head coach), Garret Tihada (associate head coach), and Morgan “Bula” Montgomery, who is the Team Captain who plays as a Guard. In addition to them, Teva Loft, who plays as a TE and Outside linebacker, Kaulana Tihada, who plays as a Running Back and Middle linebacker, and Kuola Watson, who plays as a Quarterback and Strong Safety, were named in the list.
Why was Lahainaluna High School given the honor to serve as honorary coin toss captains at Super Bowl LVIII?
While fans now know that Lahainaluna High School football was the coin toss captain, not many know why the honor was given to this particular team. In this regard, it must be noted that Lahainaluna football was given the honor to serve as honorary coin toss captains at the Super Bowl LVIII due to their unmatchable spirit.
This honor was given to the team nearly six months after the August 8, 2023, wildfires that claimed at least 100 lives. The disaster virtually destroyed historic Lahaina and everything around it, and the team players were also affected. But they rallied and played out their abbreviated season, which was really commendable.
Members of the Lahainaluna high school football team are honored ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iR3tCudr9X
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2024
Amid this, the NFL decided to give them the opportunity to be the coin toss captains for the final. The league has also provided the Lahainaluna High School football team and two other local football programs; the Lahaina Intermediate School and Lahaina Chiefs Pop Warner team, with grants to fund new equipment for their teams.
The National Football League Films team also released a documentary on the Lunas to highlight their journey from the tragedy on Maui to their season-opening game. All this is a testimonial of the fact that if you can continue the path towards your goal without getting affected by the obstacles, life will give back to you in unexpected ways.