Why Vai Sikahema’s Loyalty is Back at BYU
By Jake Hadlock
Source: byutv.org
When Vai Sikahema broke the story about Harvey Langi earlier this month, most BYU fans were thrilled with the news. It seems very rare that a Ute switches their allegiance from Utah to BYU and suits up in that beautiful blue.
What I found even more interesting than the transfer, however, was the apparent change of heart with Vai in regards to BYU.
I preface this with the fact that this is all from an outsider’s perspective – I do not have any sort of relationship with Vai. But even from an outside perspective, it has been easy to see there has been a rocky relationship between Vai, the Polynesian community, and BYU’s Football program.
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Now I don’t think that Sikahema has been adversarial towards BYU by any means, but it seems to me that the relationship with the Polynesian community (and Vai in particular) has suffered somewhat during the tenure of Coach Mendenhall.
Because of this, over the past few years BYU has typically missed out on the big time Poly recruits and we see less and less of an Islander presence on the team.
It seems that Mendenhall and the Polynesian community just operate on different wavelengths, with Mendenhall known for being a little uptight and Polynesians typically being more easy-going (broad generalization, I know).
However, I believe this dynamic is changing, and is completely due to the hire of Coach Mark Atuaia. Vai Sikahema was quick to laud this hire when it took place, and we are already seeing the positive results in recruiting.
Vai is a highly regarded and respected member of the Polynesian community. While it may sometimes be hard for fans to understand, members of that community often value loyalty to the group over a particular school. And when respected members of that community voice an opinion, publicly or privately, it is heard.
We all remember when Vai was photographed throwing up the “U” with Coach Whittingham. It seemed to be an outward sign of the reality that the top Polynesian recruits have been signing with Utah in recent years.
“I believe this results in the Polynesian Pipeline that was so crucial to the program in the past opening back up. This means more high-caliber Poly athletes signing with BYU in the future.”
Until the hire of Coach Atuaia (and bringing back Anae), there had recently been a lack of meaningful outreach to the Polynesian community from BYU, and Utah definitely held the upper hand with the connections on their staff.
Like the Sikahemas, the Atuaias are another well-respected family on the Islands and hold clout in the community. With the very smart addition of Coach Marky to BYU as a coach, Vai and others in that community now feel they can put their loyalty and trust back in the Cougars.
I believe this results in the Polynesian Pipeline that was so crucial to the program in the past opening back up. This means more high-caliber Poly athletes signing with BYU in the future.
We all want to be respected and our voices to be heard, and with Vai back in the fold giving his recommendations in favor of BYU, I think athletes like Harvey Langi showing up is just the beginning of what we’re going to see.