ENOUGH, already. Let's have no more whining about University of Hawaii athletics. VonAppen, Lindsey
have ’Bows closeSo what if the men's basketball team isn't ranked yet. The Rainbows have won only two games, and the second came after most of the votes were already cast. Just win and the ranking will come.
So what if the NCAA dissed the Wahine volleyball team. Just win, baby, and prove the NCAA seeding committee wrong.
And no more moaning about close losses in football.
The best thing going for the UH football program is head coach Fred vonAppen and his defensive coordinator, Don Lindsey.
VonAppen brings a refreshing outlook to the program. He was ticked off that his Rainbows lost to Notre Dame, 23-22, Saturday. For him, close wasn't good enough. And as far as vonAppen is concerned, his players should feel the same way. The heck with playing Notre Dame close. The heck with moral victories.
For too long, UH players -- and fans -- were content that the Rainbows played high-profile teams tough. So what if we lost. We gave them a game, was the thinking.
That attitude prevailed over the years -- the Rainbows lost to Southern Cal, Michigan, eventual national champion Brigham Young, Oklahoma and Nebraska after playing most of them even until the fourth quarter.
NO more. With vonAppen, a loss isn't tolerable, no matter how close.
"We played Notre Dame close. Big deal. The loss only re-emphasized that we were close enough, but we didn't do it," vonAppen said.
"People mean well when they say you played them close. But basically, they're telling you you're not worth a damn. I want players who were genuinely crushed by the loss."
Some good came out of the Notre Dame game with the national telecast on ESPN.
"I don't think that game on ESPN hurt us," vonAppen said. "That won us some friends and those kinds of things help in recruiting."
Who knows? A future Charles Tharp might have been watching and thinking he might make a difference for the Rainbows, just as the true freshman running back almost was the difference against the Irish.
"If you didn't know anything about either team, you'd think Charles Tharp was as good as anybody they (the Irish) had," vonAppen said.
"There's such a thin line, a fine line, between winning and losing," Lindsey said. "It's not just talent. Talent helps you win when you're not playing well."
Which must have been the case with Notre Dame. Quarterback Ron Powlus was having a bad day but, bang, he comes up with a big pass play that ultimately wins it for the Irish.
MEANWHILE, the Rainbows were just one play, maybe one catch or a tackle, away from scoring the biggest upset in UH history. Instead, they ended the season with six straight defeats for a 3-9 record.
Talk about a fine line between winning and losing. This year's Rainbows lost four games by a total of 18 points. The 1992 Rainbows, who capped an 11-2 season by beating Illinois in the Holiday Bowl, won four games by a total of 12 points.
A play or two or a player or two made all the difference in the two seasons.
ESPN commentator Bill Curry praised the Rainbows, and Lindsey in particular. "There is no better defensive coordinator in the country than Don Lindsey," said Curry, who ought to know. Lindsey was Curry's defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech and Alabama.
Like vonAppen, Lindsey's a keeper.