Flock Talk: 2026 Polynesian Bowl

For the last eight years, January has carried a familiar rhythm for me. The calendar flips. Bags get packed. And somewhere in the middle of winter, I find myself boarding a plane bound for O‘ahu to cover the Polynesian Bowl.

This year, though, the routine feels heavier. Quieter. Different.

From 2018 through last January, I made that trip as part of Rivals, writing for Duck Sports Authority. When the news broke that Rivals had been acquired by On3, my very first thought wasn’t about logos or platforms or traffic. It was about this week. About Hawai‘i. About the Polynesian Bowl.

For the entire history of the game, I’ve been the only Oregon-centric writer there. That access mattered. It opened doors. It led to conversations with Oregon legends, moments with families, and interviews that still stick with me — including a quiet, meaningful one with Penei Sewell after he won both the Outland Trophy and Polynesian Player of the Year.

This event has never been just a football assignment.

It carries weight in the Polynesian community. It carries meaning in my own family. It’s a week rooted in respect — for heritage, for development, for the idea that football can still be about people first.

When I started wrestling with the idea of stepping away from writing altogether, this event was the thing I couldn’t let go of. I didn’t want to stop telling these stories. I didn’t want to stop showing up for this week.

So when I finally decided to keep writing — independently — the Polynesian Bowl became the question. What does coverage look like now? Who carries it?

I reached out. I explored options. For a brief moment, it felt like something might come together with one of the larger Oregon sites. And then… silence. No drama. No bitterness. Just a reminder that every business makes its own decisions.

Which left me with one of my own.

Most of Duck Sports Central has been free by design. Covering games, breaking down film, writing about Oregon signees — that all happens close to home, with very little overhead. I love sharing those thoughts openly. I love letting people who’ve never subscribed to a recruiting site peek behind the curtain.

But the Polynesian Bowl is different.

It’s the premier high school all-star game. It requires travel. Time. Resources. I was never trying to “make money” on it — I joked with one site owner that if it covered a week’s worth of Mai Tais, I’d call it a win.

But even that didn’t line up.

So here we are.

I’m still going. I’ll still be there for check-ins, practices, and the game itself. I’ll still be doing what I’ve always done: talking to players, listening to families, watching reps that don’t make highlight tapes, and trying to understand what comes next.

This year, that coverage will live on my Substack.

We’ll have interviews with every Oregon signee in attendance. We’ll talk with as many 2027 targets as possible. There will be daily practice notes, recruiting thoughts, coaching conversations, and the kind of context that only shows up when you’re standing on the sideline instead of refreshing a timeline.

Every article will still be shared — just from a different place.

If you’ve ever valued this week of coverage…
If you’ve ever trusted my lens on recruiting and development…
If you believe this event deserves more than a box score…

I hope you’ll join me there.

And if enough folks subscribe to cover a few Mai Tais along the way? Honestly — that’s more than I ever expected heading into this trip.

Mahalo.
I’ll see you Sunday during check-ins.

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