NFL: Breiden Fehoko’s dad performs haka on jumbotron
Breiden Fehoko’s dad stole the show Saturday night by entertaining the NFL crowd with a haka routine.
The Los Angeles Chargers lost 29-22 to the LA Rams in their first preseason game but it wasn’t what happened on the field of play that caught the attention.
Fehoko has shared a clip of his dad performing on the jumbotron during the game, complete with the defensive tackle’s reaction.
Vili Fehoko did not hold back as he beat his chest and wagged his tongue in a passionate haka routine.
‘Hey, that’s my dad. That’s my dad,’ Breiden Fehoko was heard saying as he looked up to find his dad on screen.
‘That man wild, bruh. That’s my dad.
Breiden Fehoko’s dad (right) stole the show Saturday night by entertaining the NFL crowd with a haka routine, and the Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle was left stunned
He joked: ‘They gave that man more TV time than me, bruh.’
Another member of the team replied: ‘He needs his on show.’
Fehoko continued: ‘Unreal. Yo, pops needs to chill.’
In his college days Breiden Fehoko left American fans puzzled by joining in with the traditional Maori war dance alongside his father before a game.
The New Zealand-born player, of Louisiana State University at the time, was on his way to the field when he clocked his father performing the haka.
Fehoko did not let a suit and tie stop him from getting involved as he immediately threw his headphones to the floor to accompany his dad.
LA-based publication The Advocate quickly published an article asking ‘What’s a haka?’
‘It really doesn’t matter. There really isn’t a right or wrong way,’ Fehoko said after the game.
Fehoko (No. 96) joked that his dad ‘got more TV time than him’ at Saturday’s preseason game
‘I saw (my dad) do it and in our culture, when somebody gifts you with the haka, you usually sit there, you receive it, you accept it.
‘But I was about to go play a game. I’m not about to just sit there and let him do it. About to go play Georgia, the No. 2 team in the nation.
‘I’ve got to get fired up somehow. I just dropped my stuff and the switch just flipped for me.
‘The chant comes from the Maori culture. Basically what the words mean is that it’s preparing the young man, the soldier, back in the old days the warrior, to go to war.
‘He’s saying either he’s going to live or he’s going to die. I’m going to fight, I’m going to scratch, I’m going to claw for every breath I have and until the last breath I take I’m going to give it all I have. I’m going to fight for what I love.’
