Soccer in Paradise: Pacific Rim Cup in Honolulu

In early 2018 I reached out to a former MLS colleague who was putting together a preseason tournament in Honolulu between MLS and J-League teams. Jokingly, I asked Takehiko (Take) that if he needed any help, that I was available. Less than 24 hours later, he invited me to join his staff on a freelance role to help on the PR / ticket sales / event operations side.

I spent two weeks in Hawaii working on the Pacific Rim Cup, hosting the Columbus Crew and Vancouver Whitecaps from MLS, and Iwaki FC and Consadole Sapporo from Japan at Aloha Stadium. Take had assembled a small but incredibly dedicated staff - some were from the island, but most were from Japan. It was a learning experience for all of us, and we pulled it off while building genuine camaraderie.

Most of us returned for this year’s tournament, and we added a few new staffers who fit right in. And in many ways we replicated the 2018 edition - not only pulling off the games (Real Salt Lake replaced Columbus and V-Varen Nagasaki replaced Sapporo), but having as much fun as the previous year.