Pro Bowl performers all smiles

By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer

It was a surprisingly calm morning in the Spillner residence in 'Ewa Beach yesterday where family members were running around, fixing their hair, making breakfast and applying makeup.

Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom and Willie K. were among some of the local entertainers for the nationally broadcast Pro Bowl halftime show yesterday at Aloha Stadium. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"It was kind of calm," said Kim Kupukaa, a member of the Spillner clan. "Everyone was exhausted because of the long week."

The performers of the halftime show had to learn extra routines because they were replacing JC Chasez, whose halftime performance was canceled because NFL officials felt his lyrics were too suggestive.

The announcement came this past Monday on the heels of the Super Bowl halftime performance in which Chasez's 'N Sync bandmate Justin Timberlake ripped off a part of Janet Jackson's top.

The cancellation opened up a slot for the halftime show, and the pregame show — a tribute to the Pro Bowl's 25th anniversary in Hawai'i — was moved into the highly prominent spot.

Yesterday, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, Willie K. and Danny Kaleikini, who rose out of a prop volcano, headlined a group of 1,000 dancers, along with 250 dancers from the Halau Hula Olana for the halftime show.

"Since Tuesday, we've been working more hours," said Kupukaa, who is a member of Halau Hula Olana, which had to learn two new routines. "Every class put in an extra two hours a night."

Her niece, Alanna Suan, a 16-year-old Campbell High student, said that "it was really exciting. Last year we didn't have as (many) people. I liked this year's better, because it was a lot of entertainment and we had more to show.

"You had to practice more hard because you didn't know when the camera was going to be on you."

Carol Goto-Spillner of Waipahu, auntie to the clan of seven nieces who performed, said, "It made the day more special, to share it with my family members."

Kupukaa, Suan and Goto-Spillner all said the show's elevated status injected excitement.

Eight-year-old Leila Shounk agreed. She said she wasn't nervous. "It made me excited to go on TV. Dancing hula makes me feel good," she said.

The halftime pageantry provided enough color and floral prints to capture the essence of Hawai'i.

The ladies wore blue with pink and white carnations with tuberose. Teenagers wore dark green. The children wore yellow with pink, purple and white orchids. The performance lasted about five minutes. But that five minutes was important to 14-year-old Ergel Valenzuela of Moanalua High School.

"It made me happy because it was going to be televised," she said. "I was nervous because I was right on the sidelines. I had a lot of fun. It was fantastic to see the crowd out there."

And don't forget the millions who watched nationwide. Last year's game was viewed by 6.3 million households, according to the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.

"We thought the tribute to Hawai'i was very appropriate, with this being the 25th anniversary of it being held in Hawai'i," NFL spokesman Michael Signora said. "It was an exciting celebration of the unique Hawaiian culture."

Earlier last week, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said that Chasez would not be performing the halftime show because the lyrics in the song "Blowing Me Away With Your Love" were "too suggestive for our tastes."

The NFL wanted Chasez to sing the national anthem but he pulled out, saying in a statement, "The NFL's shallow effort to portray my music as sexually indecent brings to mind another era when innocent artists were smeared with a broad brush by insecure but powerful people. That's not the America I love. Nor is this the NFL I love. I'll sing the national anthem anytime, anywhere, but not for this NFL."

Instead, the NFL brought in singer Kiley Dean, a 21-year-old pop/R&B performer from Orlando, to sing the national anthem. But there is still an 'N Sync connection there. Dean attended the same high school as 'N Sync's Joey Fatone.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.

Correction: Members of the Spillner family performed during the halftime of the Pro Bowl Game. The name was incorrect in one reference in a previous version of this story.