Sidelines
Well, at least now I don't have to work on Christmas Day. Tips for getting
a bowl back—and
keeping itMaybe.
And now that Fritz Rohlfing has taken his bowl games to the mainland -- without even bothering to check with the TV bigwigs first, he was so sure he had to go -- the era of bowl games in Hawaii is over.
We think.
There are only a few answers to questions in this scenario that we know for sure:
Are the Aloha and Oahu bowls, in their current form, out of here?
We're a Jordan-esque 99.9 percent sure, yes.
Is this bad for the University of Hawaii?
Yes.
Is this bad for the WAC?
Yes.
Does this mean that we sports fans will actually have to pay attention to our families on Christmas Day instead of watching football on television?
Yes.
I mean, what else are we going to do, watch the Blue-Gray game?
(Uh, okay, yes.)
(In fact you were already watching the Blue-Gray game, weren't you?)
(That's a sign of a potential problem. Get some help.)
(Nobody watches the Blue-Gray game. In fact they don't even need to play it in a stadium. It's probably just some empty lot somewhere.
Think about it.
Have you actually ever seen any fans there? No. Just sideline reporters. You know why TV gives all those players free calls home during the Blue-Gray game? Because not even their own families care enough to come to this game! "Um, Mom? I just scored a touchdown! Merry Christmas! It's me, Mom ... your son ... turn on the TV, Mom. No, ABC ... ")
And now we don't even have Alabama beat.
But wait! We read here in the Star-Bulletin that maybe, just maybe there could still be a bowl game next year.
If: A certified bowl would like to move on short notice.
If: A major network (like ABC, which loved Hawaii on Christmas Day) is involved.
If: The WAC and UH jump on the bandwagon.
OF THESE THREE, the first would probably be hardest to achieve. ABC enjoyed the numbers and the location for almost 20 years, and Rohlfing jumped ship without asking them first. And the WAC and UH both have big reasons for wanting a bowl game in the fold.
And of course Jeep, the title sponsor, may just tell Rohlfing that their deal is no good without ABC, so after all of this there is still a negligible chance that the Aloha Bowl comes crawling back.
If any of these unlikely things happens, we've learned a few things from last time:
>> ONE game.
>> Christmas Day is a wonderful time to watch a game on TV. Bad day to go to a game.
>> Washington, Penn State, Notre Dame, Alabama, USC, Arizona, Colorado, UCLA, Navy, Colorado and UH, good.
>> Virginia, Arizona State and Wake Forest, bad. (Anybody in Hawaii who cares about the ACC raise your hand. Keep them raised, two, three, four ... okay, thank you.)
>> Don't tell us about first-round draft picks. Who are we, Mel Kiper Jr.? A team has two first round draft picks and STILL goes 6-5? Who wants to watch that?
>> That's ONE game.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com