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Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
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Scheduling dilemma not so daunting from afar
I was going to write about Herman Frazier again today, but let's face it, the guy has enough problems. Let's give Herman the day off. Let's give ourselves the day off.
There are other things to talk about. We could talk about Herman. Sure. And you would have to say we probably will again one day soon. That topic is going to be there. But today, let's see something else.
There's a guy named Brian who writes me fairly regularly, and he's the one who snapped me out of this mess for a day. For years he lived in Oregon, and, well, I don't think he enjoyed it very much. Its major drawback being that it wasn't his beloved Maui.
And he really, really did not like Oregon State. Not a fan. He made that clear in nearly every e-mail. Oh, how he disliked -- to put it politely -- Oregon State. Oregon State's major crime being that it wasn't his beloved UH.
That's how it is when you're on the mainland.
Nothing is as good as it was back home. Those teams in green are your connection to Hawaii -- you wear them on your sleeve. It's like you're a kid again. You hold onto them that tight.
We who actually are here in Hawaii are close enough, though (sometimes unfortunately), to see the warts. We're close enough that the idealized picture is often punctured. We know things aren't perfect. We see it all up close, in HD.
But the local folks stuck on the mainland do have something going for them. With their distance comes innocence. With their homesickness comes a special kind of love. An ocean away, they are fans the way we were when we were kids. I envy them that.
In a way, we should all be lucky enough to get as much excitement out of a team as the people do who are twice as excited by it because they're so far away.
UH's most fervent, true-believer, rabid fans are on the mainland. No, wait, check that. They are in Iraq (and an update -- SFC Steve Chinen is safe and currently home on two weeks of R&R, and hoping to catch Colt Brennan at spring practice next week).
And so, yes, Brian on the Mainland is upset about the whole Herman-schedule-fiasco thing. Everybody is. But it makes him even more determined to, in his words, not "wallow" in the situation. He says not since Al Noga has a senior season been this anticipated.
And if the strength of schedule eliminates some bigger goals, well, then this is the perfect thing to make UH "TRULY focus on winning the WAC, perhaps this can be a memorable shot at winning the conference outright. It seems nothing else matters at this point. Beating Boise and da res' would be oh, so sweet after all of these years! Wouldn't it!"
Yes, we should see the warts. Shouldn't ignore them, or let them go. But for a day, I want to use Brian's eyes instead.