Final Thought…
It was a once-in-a-lifetime concert that was nearly fumbled away. The late Tom Moffat wanted to bring the Rolling Stones to Hawai‘i for a concert at Aloha Stadium on January 21, 1998. However, there was only one problem: Aloha Stadium was hosting the NFL’s Pro Bowl on February 1, 1998, and stadium officials said it was impossible to guarantee the painted logos on the field would dry before the annual all-star game. Stadium officials sacked the request and said no to the Rolling Stones! Unhappy fans of the legendary British rock band were outraged and demanded Satisfaction, and that is when then Gov. Ben Cayetano stepped in and like a Beast of Burden, negotiated a deal between the NFL and the promoters, promising a solution. The Stones had been in Hawai'i twice before in 1966 and 1973 and was hoping to make a stop in the islands once again as part of its “Bridges to Babylon” tour. Cayetano contacted NFL turf guru George Toma who had the answer - a helicopter! Stadium officials approved and on January 23 and 24, more than 55,000 fans packed Aloha Stadium, generating more than $3 million for the Stones, making it one of the highest grossing concerts in Hawai'i's history. The massive payday was much more than the $15,000 the Stones received for its 1966 concert in the islands. A few days later, a helicopter arrived in Halawa and hovered a few feet from the ground to dry the freshly painted 1998 Pro Bowl logos on the artificial turf. The game went on without a hitch, proving what the Rolling Stones have said for decades, “You can’t always get what you want but if you try sometime, you’ll find you get what you need!”
