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Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
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Even the chaperone is crazy
JERRY Glanville says that when Hawaii goes on the road and the team stays in a hotel he always stays on the same floor as all the players.
Imagine that image for a moment. Do you feel better or worse? Can you imagine going on the road with Glanville?
"Did anybody see the movie 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'?" Glanville said this week. "That was our trip to Michigan State."
Yeah. Steve Martin. John Candy. But at least they finally made it to their destination. Or so they thought.
"We got off the plane in Chicago," Glanville said, "and we're walking down the corridor to get on another plane and one of my best players says, 'Coach, this is the first time I've ever been in Michigan.' "
Um ... "We're in Chicago," Glanville said gently. Because, you know, Chicago is in Illinois.
"Yeah," the guy said without missing a beat, "I've never been in Michigan before."
At last, Glanville said, "Well, I think you'll like it here."
Eh, it can get confusing on the mainland. Last year's trip to Idaho:
"We got off in Washington," Glanville said, "which I too, thought we were in Idaho. And we bused a while, we got off and we practiced at a high school field. I was afraid to ask which state we were in."
Today I think I'd be telling them they were anywhere but Boise. Maybe that's the purpose of the blue turf. You know exactly where you are.
We'll see how this 2006 Hawaii football team reacts to the road. So far, most observers are feeling confident because these players a) are saying all the right things, and b) didn't quit at Alabama.
Well ... you've still got to go out and do it. The road is a crazy place. All kinds of things happen. You're out of your element. Why was it such a great comeback at Alabama? Because UH had gone in the tank in the first half.
The road is a strange, strange place.
Riley Wallace had it figured out for a while, with that Golden Corral buffet. The Rainbows won so many big games. But it hasn't been quite as magical, these last couple of years.
Maybe part of the secret was having Savo on your team.
And that's what some are saying about Colt Brennan now.
But you've still got to go out and do it. The road can be a crazy place.
Maybe that's the secret. You send your crazy people.
"We stay on Hawaii time," Glanville said. "So all of a sudden people in hotels say, 'What kind of team is this, it's 2 o'clock in the morning, they're running down the hall.' "
And at this point in the story, Glanville decided to yell: "It's not 2 o'clock to us!"
The road is a strange, strange place.