Sidelines
IT'S here. You've been waiting, waiting, waiting all summer long. Football! After all those months, Hawaii football kicks off again. Which means we welcome you to Maui, where the motto is no longer "No Ka Oi," but instead the new, improved "No Can Tailgate." Much rides on
Valley Isle openerBut let's not dwell on negative things. This is an exciting time, the first game, the first chance for our friends from Maui to see and host a UH game live, in person and up close. This is big for people on the neighbor islands, where, growing up, we never had things like your Zippy's or Sea Life Park or Lex Brodie or O-Triple-C. We're thrilled by Oahu's city sights.
The closest I ever got to UH football as a kid was going to the Dick Tomey Football Camp in Honokaa, where he told us the inspirational Rich Miano Story. (Something about working hard, I don't know. I was tired.)
And this is a big game. Montana. A big, big, big game. Some of you out there may scoff at this. It's just a I-AA team, you say. They should kill them. You say that if UH can't handle a I-AA team, they are really in trouble. You are absolutely right. But let's say that again.
If UH can't handle a I-AA team, THEY ARE REALLY IN TROUBLE.
This, right here, is the biggest game of the season. The pressure is on. We saw it last year. An entire year can hinge on this night.
The story is, these guys aren't bad. Not at all. June Jones says that they would be one of the top teams in the WAC. "They might win it," he said. Did you hear that? THEY MIGHT WIN IT! How did UH do last year? (They didn't win it.) If Montana is truly that good, then this isn't a game you want to play first, against guys wearing the big underdog I-AA label. You have to win it. Or else.
Therefore, since I played my high school football at War Memorial Stadium, I am dipping into my own experience for my sure-fire home-field Maui football advice to UH: Do NOT chip in and hire a belly dancer to come shake her stuffs in the locker room as your coach's final game retirement gift.
(Boy, was THAT an awkward moment.)
SO THE GAME is exciting. It's on another island. It's against a so-called quality opponent. It's filled with anticipation if for no other reason than UH simply, positively, absolutely can't afford to lose to a I-AA team the first game of the season. Again.
But most of all tonight football finally starts and we get all of our questions answered. And there are questions.
>> Has Timmy (I call him Timmy) Chang put it all together yet? No. But he's getting there fast. Some days this season he'll look like an All-American, but there will be times he'll look like a sophomore.
>> Is Mike Bass the real deal? We'll watch him fall down, miss blocks and get lit up because of his size. He's still learning college football. But yes. At least three times a game, he'll bring Aloha Stadium to its feet.
>> The defense ... Nothing but mysteries. Can Chris Brown play in the middle? Is Jacob Espiau really the "computer chip"? Will Mike Iosua stay healthy? Who has better hair, he or Nate Jackson?
Tonight on Maui, the excitement awaits.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com