Hawaii travelers,
team arrive in L.A.
LOS ANGELES >> Lest it be forgotten, there are people from Hawaii in this sprawling metropolis who aren't here for the Warriors' football game tomorrow against fourth-ranked Southern California.
At least two of them were at the LAX Hilton when the team checked in last night at around 10:20, Pacific Time, after an uneventful five-hour charter flight (no, pilot Mike Chow, brother of USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow, did not find a reason to divert the plane to Fresno or Sacramento) into Burbank and 40-minute bus ride to the hotel.
Lee and Toni Marteney of Kula are just passing through on their way to Denver, so the green-clad traveling party of 60 football players and 30-plus support staff was an interesting sight at the hotel lobby.
"I didn't know they would be here," said Lee Marteney, who does follow UH football some from the Valley Isle.
"I don't know if they'll win on Saturday, but I hope so. I think they have a chance. (Coach) June (Jones) has a weird offense. Maybe that's not the right word. Unique is better."
While the Marteneys might be best described as casual fans, the Warriors will, however, be getting plenty of ti-leaf-waving support from fans flying in from Hawaii for package deals including next week's Nevada-Las Vegas game. Also, alumni, parents of players and displaced Hawaii residents from all over Southern California and farther have or will converge here in the next two days.
"They're expecting at least 5,000 fans here," Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier said. "We know they'll be at least 1,000 at our tailgate. And Sen. Daniel Inouye is in town and he said he might come to the game."
While the Marteneys checked in for their layover, the UH coaches and players settled in and then attended meetings. Today they practice at the game site, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, in front of 92,000 empty seats.
Even when it's full, it can sound empty, Jones said earlier in the week.
"Sometimes you can hear a pin drop, and then all of a sudden you can't even hear your own voice in the huddle," said Jones, who played in a Monday Night Football game at the Coliseum while he was a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.
Today's visit to the Coliseum won't be the first for several UH players who grew up in the L.A. area and went to games as kids.
And, surprisingly, senior wide receiver Michael Miyashiro has been there before. The 29-year-old Pearl City High School graduate played junior college ball at nearby Mt. San Antonio College. When a former Mt. SAC teammate became a member of the USC team, he invited his old JC buddies, including Miyashiro, to the sidelines for a game.
"That was a great experience," said Miyashiro. "I loved all the tradition. The horse, all of it. The only thing better would be to play there."
The 5-foot-6, 147-pound walk-on might get that opportunity tomorrow. He made the 63-man travel roster as Jeremiah Cockheran's backup at right wide receiver.
An underdog among a team of 21-point underdogs.
