Vai Sikahema

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Vai Sikahema (born August 29, 1962 in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga) was an American football running back-kick returner in the National Football League who played for 8 seasons from 1986 to 1993. Sikahema was a special teams standout for several teams, including the St. Louis/ Phoenix Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and Philadelphia Eagles. He was named to the Pro Bowl twice (in 1986 and 1987). It was during his stint with the Eagles that he came up with the famous "goalpost punching" stunt after scoring a kickoff return touchdown in a 1992 game against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium.

[edit] High School and College Career

Attended Mesa HS (AZ) before attending BYU where he was a standout returner.

Upon retiring, Sikahema was hired by then-CBS owned and operated television station WCAU in Philadelphia to do weekend sports. Surviving the station's sale to NBC, Sikahema later moved to weekdays and is currently the Sports Director. His cousin, Reno Mahe, also plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. Sikahema's nephew by marriage is actor Jon Heder, star of the film Napoleon Dynamite and Blades of Glory.

In May 2008, Sikahema accepted an open challenge from former baseball player Jose Canseco to fight him in a celebrity boxing match for $25,000. Canseco claims to have earned black belts in Kung Fu, Taekwondo, and Muay Thai, while Sikahema, who grew up wanting to be a professional boxer, had once fought in a National Golden Gloves Championship losing to the eventual winner Sugar Ray Leonard. The fight was held on July 12th, 2008, in Atlantic City at the Bernie Robbins Stadium, and was dubbed The War at The Shore.^[1] The event was hosted by Philadelphia-native adult film personality Steven Sheaffer. Sikahema won by knockout in the first round and donated the $5,000 purse to the family of Stephen Liczbinski, a fallen officer of the Philadelphia Police Department. Sikahema is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been a resident of Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey.^[2]

[edit] References