|
Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Florida Atlantic not
such a bad openerFLORIDA Atlantic? You could see the heads shaking, imagine the eyes rolling across the state. In fact, you didn't have to imagine it. It was right there on your television screen, as Joe Moore launched into Hawaii's highest-rated "What Were They Thinking?" rant on Channel 2.
So the last piece of the puzzle that is Hawaii's 2004 football schedule doesn't blow you away.
But it could be worse. Yes, it's not as exciting as saying Oklahoma is coming to town. But it seems I'm one of the few who doesn't think bringing in Florida Atlantic is such a bad thing.
One, let's face it, if you're going to bring in an all-but Division I-AA school, at least it should have some backstory. At least this isn't any old Northeastern West Warmup State. The last few years we've seen Montana, then Eastern Illinois, Appalachian State. At least these guys are intriguing.
They're a brand-new program, from scratch. They've got Howard Schnellenberger. Howard Schnellenberger! I don't know about fans, but the media should at least perk up a little for this one.
Then there's the fact that it's an opener. UH is a notorious slow starter under June Jones. In the last three games of the season UH could beat the Packers, the Bears and the 1911 Carlisle Indians, but its engine sputters in those first few weeks. This is an opener. Everybody wants to win their opener. It's just good scheduling.
This is the level of opponent UH has invited to open the season for the past five years. It's a pattern. An unpopular one. But not a dumb one. Those wins add up.
And let's roll out this quote now, six months early: "These guys could win the WAC."
Third, filling these openers is not as easy as it looks. Why?
Because UH is so feared, and teams are wary of leaving here with a loss?
Um, OK, sure, that too.
(Don't discount that Hawaii's brawling reputation -- people do pay attention to such things, news of what happens here does travel to the mainland these days -- has had at least as much of an impact. If you saw that twice in two years at another school, would you take a team there?)
But more so, with a trip of this magnitude you need to find a team not just with an opening on that date, but an opening on the date after, too.
Anybody will come at the end of the year. But most schools don't want to throw away a promising season -- whether they win this game or not -- thanks to a jet-lag hangover that drags into the next week, and the one after that. Not when every game counts.
You need to find a school that thinks a chance to beat Hawaii, that thinks a visit to Hawaii, is worth this kind of trip. That tends to narrow your field, and in that field, Florida Atlantic doesn't look too bad.
Would I like to see better? Yes. It would be great if UH scheduled a team from the Big Ten, Pac-10, Big 12 or even the hated Mountain West. Or even anybody who has been Division I for longer than 11 minutes.
But I know this: Howard Schnellenberger is coming. He has Florida athletes. And in four years of UH openers this is the first opponent I've been excited about.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com
