My Friend Pio by Dave Mills ’88
P
io and I started at Maryknoll in 1984 - Mr. Stepp’s summer school class. His strengths were writing poetry, music, and loved to sing his way in and out of class. Pio loved to call me a haole and I wasn’t stupid enough to call him something back. He was big and tough but he always treated me well. I went up against him my junior year in both football and basketball. The happiest days of my life were his recruiting trips which typically happened during the week. After high school, he went to San Diego State and I went to University of Dayton, Ohio. When he was drafted by the Browns, I saw him play his rookie year and he visited me at college. He was larger than life! I remember walking him around the campus and we would laugh about being yelled at by Coach Tony Sellitto just four short years ago. We grew up so much between then. However, I remember both of us agreeing that Coach was the biggest inspiration in our lives to that point. Pio signed autographs and talked with people about playing for the Browns. Most pros would never do that, but Pio was a fan of people, much more than they were a fan of football. I saw Pio twice more when the Browns played the Redskins in DC. We made him a Hawaiian style dinner a day before the game. Here was an NFL player with slippers and shorts in my living room! I saw him a few times after that and he always remained the same - joking, laughing and smiling like a child. Who could forget his smile and his side-to-side walk. Outside of my father and Coach Sellito, Pio was the greatest inspiration of my life. He taught me not to take life serious. He taught me to use humor as a way around tough and stressful times. I think I inherited his smile when I wore his number 32 my senior year. I believe I am who I am today because of the three great years I spent with Pio - getting my butt kicked, being teased, but most of all, feeling his love because that what’s he gave you as a friend. Mahalo Pio - you will be missed but your legacy, and smile, will always be here. Pio Sagapolutele ’87 passed away in Chandler, Arizona on June 7, 2009 after suffering a brain aneurysm. He was born in American Samoa, grew up in Kuhio Park Terrace, and made his way to the NFL, enjoying a seven-year career with the Browns, Patriots and Saints. He played in Super Bowl XXXI, but says his fondest NFL memory - his first game. “I was playing for the Browns and I remember sitting on the field stretching in the pre-game, thinking about growing up in Kalihi...and how far I had come.” Pio was 39-years old. He is survived by his wife Yvonne and four children.
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Knoller