M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Who, What, Where and Vai
by Kelly L. Martinez

Two years ago, at a banquet in the Philadelphia area, a man approached former All-Pro NFL player Vai Sikahema and struck up a conversation. Sikahema introduced the man to Andy Reid, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, who was a speaker at the banquet. In time, the conversation turned to the connection Reid and Sikahema shared with BYU.

The man had been in an auto accident prior to that day and shared an experience he had as a result of that crash. While in his car, drifting in and out of consciousness, he had a dream in which he received the impression that he would meet two people who would change his life. He didn’t know what to make of it.

Two days prior to the banquet, the man and his wife answered a knock on the door at their home to find two LDS missionaries standing on their porch. Sikahema and Reid encouraged the man to get in touch with the missionaries again.

For the past year, Phil Orsi has served as ward clerk in the ward that Sikahema was the bishop of in New Jersey. Orsi was recently sealed to his wife and family for eternity. “Having served a full-time mission,” says Sikahema, “I know that not everyone that is taught the Gospel is going to be baptized. But this experience with Phil and his family was a really special one.”

A change in plans
Vai had no intention of ever serving a mission before he got to BYU. He was eager to see how far his football skills would take him when he arrived in Provo prior to the 1980 season. There were plenty of LDS players that had played football at BYU that hadn’t served missions, so he thought he would be able to find comfort and justification in his decision.

What he didn’t expect, however, was the influence the equipment manager would have on his resistance to heed the call to serve. “Floyd Johnson had been at BYU for a very long time,” Vai remembers. “Because he wasn’t a coach, he was in a unique situation to earn athletes’ trust because they weren’t threatened by him. He wasn’t connected to the coaches in any way. It was easy to go and sit with Floyd in the equipment room and pour out your feelings to him.”

During those visits in the equipment room, Vai had a change of heart and served a full-time mission in South Dakota from 1982-83. “Floyd had a big impact on my decision to serve a mission,” he admits.

So what did Floyd say that encouraged such an about-face attitude?

“Floyd would always encourage me to ask myself what I wanted to be in five or ten years,” Vai remembers. “He would encourage me to talk to the guys that chose to play football instead of serving. Then he told me to talk to the ones that did serve. He then told me to decide what type of person I wanted to be and to go do what it took to become that person.”

As it turned out, Vai realized that what he wanted most was to be obedient to the counsel of the prophets and to share the gospel.

Breaking the Mold
In 1980, so far as LDS football players were concerned, the state of college football was that if you served a mission, you would never play in the NFL. In so far as Vai was aware, Bart Oates was the only exception to the rule. It was a challenge for players to go on a mission, then play at the collegiate level when they returned. It was generally accepted that a mission equaled the end of an athlete’s chances of ever making the NFL.

Vai was a tenth round draft pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1986 NFL Draft. His football career spanned nine seasons, playing for St. Louis/Arizona (1986-90), Green Bay (1991) and Philadelphia (1992-94) before his retirement in 1994. Pro Bowl selections in 1987 and 1988 proved that he belonged in the NFL. In fact, he still holds the Cardinals’ records in career punt return yardage (2,152), season return yardage (550) and single game return yardage (145).

Family, Work and Unfinished Business
Residents of New Jersey, Vai and his wife, Keala, were married in the Mesa Arizona Temple in 1984 and have four children: Landon, 16, L.J., 14, Trey, 12, and Lana, 8.

Vai was recently released as bishop of his ward in Cherry Hills, N.J. Prior to serving as bishop, he served as Young Men’s president, which was the only other church calling that he had ever held. “While I was in the NFL,” he says, “I was never around long enough to hold a regular calling. My first official calling didn’t come until after I retired from pro football.”

Presently, Vai is the chief TV sportscaster at NBC 10 in Philadelphia. He began his broadcasting career at KSAZ-TV in Phoenix. While with the Packers, he worked at WFRV-TV in Green Bay.

Last month, 16 years after he left BYU, Vai took part in a BYU commencement ­ as a recipient of a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. He intends to begin working on a master’s degree in the fall.

The Blue
Since March of 2001, Vai has been a regular contributor to CougarBlue.com. His column, “The Sikahema Chronicles,” is an entertaining series in which Vai shares behind-the-scenes stories about a variety of topics, ranging from BYU football players’ interactions with the LDS General Authorities to little-known experiences about legendary bad boy Jim McMahon to deciding whether to serve a mission or not. Vai’s warmth and friendly attitude is evident in each of his columns.

The Greatest of Examples
Vai considers Muhammad Ali as one of the most influential role models in his life. He admires Ali’s religious conviction in the face of much adversity. “I remember how Ali’s stand about not going to Vietnam was so controversial,” he says. “What I’ve come to learn about Ali is that he was never going to have to go to the front lines and fight. The government was going to use him like it did Joe Louis during World War II ­ as a public relations tool. He was going to spend his time doing exhibition fights and boosting the troops’ morale. He knew this, but he held fast to his religious convictions anyway. I think there’s a great lesson to be learned there.”

Sabbath Day and the NFL
Like many LDS athletes that have gone on to the professional level, Vai chose to play on Sundays. “It’s a tough decision,” he admits. “But the bottom line is that it’s a commandment and, if it’s broken, you will not reap the blessings of properly observing the Sabbath day. You just can’t. There aren’t any exceptions. Even for doctors and those types of professions; there are no exceptions for anybody.”

During his nine seasons in the NFL, Vai would not see the inside of a church from the beginning of training camp until the end of the season. “I realize now that when you’re not in church every Sunday and not partaking of the sacrament, you don’t have the full blessings that come with living the Gospel.” He found the ramifications to be subtle until eventually he became painfully aware of the void that was created by not going to church.

Vai has found the Lord to be merciful ­ in spite of his decision to play football on Sundays ­ blessing him with the opportunity to play in the NFL, which helped him to get the type of job that has allowed him to serve as a bishop. “This fact doesn’t dismiss me from my responsibility to observe the Sabbath,” he admits. “I missed out on those blessings while I played in the NFL. Even now, there are times I am required to work on Sunday. I work in the sports industry and I’m the top sports guy at my station, so my employer has certain expectations.”

As a bishop, Vai would counsel members of his ward to do the best they could in observing the Sabbath day and if it was within their power, to not work on Sundays.

“I admire people like Eli Herring and Aleisha Cramer,” he says. “They will reap the blessings for their valiant decisions.”

Note: Vai Sikahema’s “The Sikahema Chronicles” can be accessed at http://www.cougarblue.com. Go to the archive section and type in ‘Sikahema.’ An archive of his submissions will then appear.

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