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Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
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Taking shots at Frazier could help keep UH athletics afloat
THERE have been some questions raised about Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier's stature and ability and skill when it comes to personally raising funds. You know, beyond adding fees to tickets and coming up with more expensive seats (both effective methods, by the way), and pay-per-view.
Well, let me tell you something. I believe Herman Frazier can raise funds. I believe he can have people -- and not just fat cats, but everyday, everyman, regular hard-working local people -- lining up to give money to UH. That is, if he follows my foolproof, guaranteed plan for a new athletic-department revenue stream.
Two words: Dunk tank.
Stay with me. Picture it -- $100 for three shots at sending Herman into the drink. Try out your arm, step right up. They'd be lined up for miles (do you remember Colt Brennan's line at the spring game?). People would come back for seconds. Thirds. They would take out small loans.
They would do it knowing their money was going to a good cause.
And as an added bonus, UH athletics would benefit, too.
EVERYONE WOULD FEEL better afterward, which would be the best part. Everyone needs something like this. The fans do. Frazier does. It would help everyone involved move on.
I liked Charley Memminger's column the other day in the Star-Bulletin, talking about people pitching him ideas of what he should write. I get those, too. Many of them saying I should rip Frazier about the 2007 UH football schedule, and other failures, as if this thought has never occurred to me, as if I never have (my favorite phone call: "Not every day!").
People aren't letting it go. They seem to think if they keep venting on the Internet, if they keep the issue alive on the radio, if they send me one more e-mail, Frazier will get fired.
Well, to borrow June Jones' favorite saying, guess what? He's not going to get fired. He's going to be here.
We're headed into this next season like this. Something has to be done.
The fans need something like this. They need a release.
FRAZIER. HE NEEDS this, needs to take ownership of this situation, to move it forward on his own terms. Two words: Dunk tank.
Part of the reason people can't seem to move on or let it go seems to be while he did tell Dave Reardon that he "miscalculated" and he has officially "taken responsibility" there is still a sense of hubris that surrounds Frazier. He hasn't really owned up to having screwed up or offered an apology to fans who felt they were promised magic for Colt Brennan's senior year.
Something like this would allow Frazier the opportunity to say something maybe he can't quite bring himself to say. He could show himself as cool, as a good sport, as a guy who "gets it." He could show the fans he knows their feelings count.
Three throws for $100. Good-natured fun. If he could take his cracks for a few hours and come out smiling afterward, Frazier might win all kinds of newfound respect. Everyone would feel better in the end.
Plus, a Herman Frazier dunk tank would be a great UH sports fundraiser. It would make money.
Trust me, it would make a LOT of money.