How a Hawaiʻi Kid Became an NFL Legend with the Chicago Bears | Olin Kreutz Keeps It Aloha (Ep. 234)

How a Hawaiʻi Kid Became an NFL Legend with the Chicago Bears | Olin Kreutz Keeps It Aloha (Ep. 234)

From Keep it Aloha by Kamaka Dias

June 25, 2026 · 1h 53m

About this episode

Olin Kreutz shares his journey from a Hawaiʻi kid to an NFL legend with the Chicago Bears.

Olin Kreutz is a Hawaiʻi football legend from the island of O’ahu. In high school he received All-State and SuperPrep All-America honors while serving as football team captain during his senior year, and would additionally go on to win the Hawai'i state wrestling heavyweight championship. He then went on to star at the University of Washington, where he became a Consensus All-American before being drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1998. Over the next 13 seasons in Chicago, he became the heart of one of the NFL's most storied franchises, earning six Pro Bowl selections, First-Team All-Pro honors, and a spot on the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 2000s. He helped lead the Bears to Super Bowl XLI and is widely considered one of the greatest centers in franchise history. Today he's a respected football analyst, coach, mentor, and remains one of Hawaiʻi's most successful football exports. In this episode, we talk story about growing on O’ahu, playing different sports, getting into football, training with his grandpa, moving away for college, getting drafted by the Chicago Bears, his NFL career, his life after retirement in Chicago, and so much more. Enjoy! Find Olin here…

People in this episode

Host: Kamaka Dias

Guest: Olin Kreutz

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Washington, Chicago Bears

Places: Hawaiʻi, O’ahu

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