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Friday, September 15, 2000
Warriors: Split Change is good ... except when it messes with tradition.
decision on change
More favor the old Rainbows
nickname and logo than not,
but the gap is not that greatBy Cindy Luis
Star-BulletinThe chants of "Let's Go, 'Bows'' echoed loudly across Aloha Stadium during last Saturday's season opener for the University of Hawaii football team. The cheers of "Let's Go, Warriors'' just didn't have the same ring to them.
The decisions to scrap the Rainbow nickname for that of Warriors by the football team, as well as changing the Rainbow logo in favor of the Polynesian-stylized "H," has fans divided, according to a Honolulu Star-Bulletin/NBC Hawaii News 8 poll.
Forty-four percent of those polled Sept. 5-9 disapproved of the decision to change the nickname, while 39 percent approved. There was nearly the same percentages when it came to the new "H'' logo: 44-37 percent disliked it.
"I'm one of those who feel if it ain't broke, don't fix it,'' said Charles Pedesky, one of the poll respondents. "I didn't see any reason to change."It's not that I dislike the 'H' but we are longtime football fans. It's still 'Go, 'Bows' to us.''
Those polled overwhelmingly agreed with Pedesky -- nearly 3-1 -- about what to call the team. Sixty-five percent said they'd still call the football team "Rainbows.''
There was a marked division between age groups and length of time living in Hawaii. Older fans, and/or those who were raised here, were more apt to favor the use of the Rainbow logo and nickname; the younger generation and/or those who were newcomers liked the new look and name.
"My friends and I have had a lot of arguments about this,'' said one UH student who asked that her name not be used. "We went to the game Saturday. Some of us wore the new logos and some of us wore the old (Rainbow) logos.
"My friends who grew up here are really upset about it and the loss of what they think is significant with the rainbow. I personally like the new uniforms and think the way the 'H' looks is also significant to the islands.''
"I can't believe they dropped the Rainbows,'' said longtime resident Vicki Millard. "That big, solid 'H' has no meaning to the University of Hawaii."
Others were split on the logo and nickname change. Several people liked the new design but didn't care for the name "Warriors.''
Tony Gomes liked both.
"I think the logo is cool, that it captures Hawaii,'' said Gomes, who was born and raised here. "I've always thought 'Rainbows' was too passive of a name. I've been going to football games for 30 years and I think this is a step in the right direction.
"But you could see that people were divided the other night. It seemed like the 50-plus crowd wore their old T-shirts and the under-50 had on the new T-shirts."
And what about the men behind the changes?
Football coach June Jones had a 72 percent favorable rating among those polled. That was down by nine percent from a poll taken last December.
UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida had a 22 percent favorable rating in the latest polling, two times greater than his unfavorable rating. But more than a third of those polled didn't recognize Yoshida's name when asked for their opinion.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
