Win or lose Sunday, the Rams’ DB Rapp has already booked offseason return to Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The countdown to Super Bowl 56 continues.

And while there are no Hawaii-born players on either team, Los Angeles Rams defensive back Taylor Rapp has a strong connection to the state ― and considers the islands his second home.

The 24-year-old grew up just outside of Seattle, but extended trips to the islands were an annual family tradition. “It’s a fantastic place,” said Chris Rapp, Taylor’s father. “The island itself is amazing, but the people, there’s so many people and friends we’ve met there. It’s the right culture for me.”

In fact, the Rapps travel to Hawaii so often they have a residence in Waikiki.

“When our family walks around together, there’s four of us, Taylor always says that I’m the one that gives us away in terms of being mainlanders,” Chriss Rapp said.

“Because they all look like they could live on the islands and I look a little different from them.”

Ethnic diversity is one reason Taylor Rapp fits in with Hawaii’s culture.

He’s half Chinese and one of the league’s few Asian-American players, which he takes great pride in.

“He’s always had that part of him and always felt close to it, but he’s really embraced it lately,” Chris Rapp said. “With social media, there’s a lot of people over in Asia, Korea, Japan, China that just contact him all the time...he’s always willing to help and he spends a lot of time doing that.”

Rapp’s father says Taylor is looking to buy a home on Oahu with plans to start an offseason youth camp and he’ll also be back for a visit next month.

But before all of that, there’s one pressing matter to take care of.

“It’s unimaginable really knowing that he’s gonna be on probably the biggest stage in the world,” Rapp said. “There’s not many events more watched than the Super Bowl.”

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