Seattle’s island delight

KIRKLAND, Wash. – If Lofa Tatupu hadn’t already felt his celebrity growing during the 2005 football season, the Seattle Seahawks’ lovable middle linebacker may well have received a hint of it while shopping at Bellevue Square a few days after Super Bowl XL.

As Tatupu walked around the mall, he sensed a shadow that followed his every move. Tatupu went to five different stores, alternating between floors, before finally confronting the young fan who recognized the Seahawks’ newest star.

“After I realized he was following me, I turned around,” Tatupu said this week. “He was just too shy to ask (for an autograph). He was looking at me, and I said, ‘How you doing, little man?’ And he said, ‘Can I get an autograph?’ “

Tatupu obliged, and still chuckles when he thinks about the story.

The man who was once hardly recognized on his college campus has suddenly become one of the most popular athletes in Seattle.

“Lofa’s Lofa,” said teammate Leroy Hill, who joined Tatupu as rookie linebackers with the Seahawks last season. “He came in pretty popular, and it’s pretty much the same. He’s always been the fan favorite.”

With a recognizable name (his father, Mosi, played 14 seasons in the NFL), a heartwarming story (the undersized linebacker had to begin his college career at Maine before going on to start for 2004 national champion USC) and a knack for making an immediate impact (he was runner-up in rookie-of-the-year voting last year and was named to his first Pro Bowl), Tatupu didn’t take long to turn Seattle into Lofa Nation.

“A fan can relate to him,” teammate Isaiah Kacyvenski said of Tatupu, who is likely to become the first Seahawks middle linebacker to start back-to-back openings since Dean Wells in 1997-98.

“As a football fan growing up, I liked to see someone who was passionate and loved the game of football. That shows (in Tatupu). He does all the little things: He runs to the ball and lays his body on the line on every play. If a fan sees that, it’s great to watch. You just put your binoculars on him and watch him go.”

While Tatupu often gets spotted around Seattle, he said he spent most of his two years at USC toiling in anonymity.

“There, we had several players of Samoan decent,” he said. “Not that we all look alike, but it was more common to see a Pacific Islander down in L.A. So you weren’t noticed as much. And then we had Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, so if you’re going out, you don’t have to worry about (getting recognized).

“It’s kind of cool to have your privacy, but you’ve got to be happy and thankful just to be in the (NFL). If you keep it in perspective, you appreciate all your fans.”

Tatupu is able to keep it in perspective because of his childhood experience.

His father may not have been the most well-known NFL player of the 1970s and ‘80s, but he had quite a cult following because of his unique name and status as an underdog who won over fans of the New England Patriots.

“This league is very what-have-you-done-for-me- lately. Here today, gone tomorrow,” Lofa Tatupu said. “All growing up, I knew how it was going to be. You just take it for what it’s worth and appreciate the acknowledgement that the fans show you.”

The younger Tatupu, who turns 24 in November, is already building quite a fan base. As of this week, Tatupu and Shaun Alexander were neck-and-neck in terms of jersey sales at the Qwest Field pro shop.

It extends beyond the city of Seattle. No. 51 jerseys have been seen in other cities across the country, and Tatupu’s Polynesian background also brings fans from beyond.

When the president of a Pacific nation called the Republic of the Marshall Islands visited Seattle earlier this month, one of his desired stops was the Seahawks’ Kirkland practice facility.

President Kessai Note went there not just because the Seahawks had gone to Super Bowl XL, but also because he wanted to meet Tatupu.

“That was unbelievable,” Tatupu said this week. “He said, ‘We appreciate the job you’re doing, and you’re a role model for our youth.’ I was very humbled and very flattered that he did that.”

By leading the Seahawks with 104 tackles as a rookie, helping Seattle earn a trip to the Super Bowl, and going to Hawaii for the annual Pro Bowl, Tatupu set quite a precedent for himself.

He knows there’s only one way he can follow that up and quench the thirst of his growing local fan base.

“Last year was a good year, but it wasn’t enough,” he said. “This year we just have to get back and get a ‘W’ in the Super Bowl.”

If that happens, Tatupu might need someone else to do his shopping for him.

Quick slants

Wide receiver Bobby Engram, who missed Monday’s voluntary session, returned to practice Tuesday. … The Seahawks practice today and Thursday, then will be off until training camp begins in late July in Cheney. … . Tight end Jerramy Stevens (knee surgery) told The Associated Press that he doesn’t expect to return to the practice field until mid-August. “I have a long ways to go,” Stevens told an AP reporter Monday. “But the progress has been great. I’ve had no setbacks.”