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The Way I See It
MY first thought: "Where's security?" Bald guy in long grass skirt runs out on the Aloha Stadium field before last weekend's game, rolls on the turf like one of the Three Stooges, bangs his noggin against a drum and screams maniacally at the stands, something about "Wah-ree-ahs." Warriors will
always be RainbowsI guess the idea was to create a WWF ambience for the evening while indoctrinating the masses on what they should be yelling at the home team.
Then what looked like exhaust fumes from a very old Volkswagen came pouring out of the mouth of an inflated green and black helmet. It didn't take much imagination to see an inflated bullfrog. The home team emerged from the bullfrog while the bald guy and three other guys in red skirts went absolutely ballistic on the drums.
Too much. Too stupid.
Worse than the old pin cushion mascot that used to show up.
And it just doesn't work.
Nobody is going to call this team the Warriors.
Nope, not even after they stormed the stores to buy the new "H" logos. Jesse Rivera finished the national anthem and "Hawaii Pono'i" and yelled, "Go, 'Bows."
Nobody yelled back, "No, Jesse, it's Warriors."
Throughout the game the rhythmic chants of "Rain-bows" and "Let's go, 'Bows" prevailed. If you watched KFVE, you also heard "Rainbows" uttered.
People see "Warriors" but read "Rainbows."
When he's good, he'll be electrifying. When he's bad, he'll look like the freshman that he is. That might be the story of Timmy Chang's season UH.
He's got the arm and he was weaned on the St. Louis system that is similar to what June Jones uses.
He has a quarterback coach in Dan Morrison who has shown a knack at the prep and collegiate levels for getting inside his players' heads to make them believe.
What Morrison believes is that Chang could become the best QB Hawaii's ever had.
That's significant. Morrison has never been known to stretch his projections of talent.
But you have to forget that in high school Chang chalked up most of his yardage against opponents who weren't in the same class as St. Louis.
Hawaii's coaching staff recruited him for his tools and potential -- not his big numbers.
He's not yet as durable as Dan Robinson was, and that should be a concern against TCU's defensive line this weekend. Nor is he as mature as Robinson was.
But Morrison believes Chang will become tougher and more mature as this season progresses. He thinks Chang already has the field vision and mobility. He also thinks the kid has the buoyancy required for the most blame-ridden responsibility on the field.
But he's going to need better line protection.
He'll need patience from fans who expect a lot more from him than they should.
He hasn't heard boos yet, but if he does, he won't deserve them.
The St. Louis sports information director didn't do Chang any favors by making him out to be the second coming of Peyton Manning. He isn't a "local sports icon," as one media type who bought the hype called him.
He wasn't among the top 10 quarterback recruits in the country. Brock Berlin (Florida) and Casey Clausen (Tennessee) were, but neither has as much riding on his shoulders as Chang does right now.
Chang is a promising freshman quarterback whose best moments are ahead. See him that way and you won't be disappointed.
Pat Bigold has covered sports for daily newspapers
in Hawaii and Massachusetts since 1978.
