Whereas other schools had mascots in foam costumes, we got Vili The Warrior!
Vili is the big Tongan guy with the ti leaves and the hardcore face-paint!
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Vili and his boy banged the drums and excited crowds in a way no mascot in a foam costume ever could!
Vili was always ready for battle!
Vili was never afraid to express himself, whether it showing his silly side or his agressive side!
Vili represented Polynesian power to the fullest!
And Vili gave the UH Warriors a tough hard-core image! That plus, the Polynesian war chants (the haka or the ha'a, depending on which island group the chant came from), the black jerseys, the tiki-styled H-symbol and the hard-htting style of play!
photo from Associated Press/ Star Bulletin
UH football players doing the haka
photo from
Vili leading the haka, with the football players wearing the black shirts!
There's no college team that could ever top that level of cool-ness EVER!
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Unfortunately, Vili the Warrior has retired from being the UH mascot, just when the new season was about to start :(
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sportspremium/20120820_Unofficial_UHmascot_Vili_officially_is_not_returning.html?id=166729566
Unfortunately, we won't have a mascot entertaining us before games, half-time or time-outs!
No one to bang the loud drums, nobody representing the coolest face-paint on earth!
Vili and his wife said they wanted to spend more time with their family. Family comes first, and I will respect that.
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However, there are conspiracy theories that Vili the Warrior was "pushed out" by the UH athletic department and the new coach.
There is no evidence on that, but I understand why such conspiracy theories came out!
For one thing, the new UH football coach started imposing regulations on the player's grooming style.
Under the new rules, the UH football players will no longer be allowed to have long hair, WHICH IS THE MOST STUPIDEST RULE ON EARTH!
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-02/sports/sns-mct-free-time-is-over.-chow-time-begins-for-real-today-20120802_1_camp-chow-time-norm-chow
The long hair was a major part of the UH-Warrior mystique in the previous decade. It made the UH haka/ha'a more real when the Warriors had the wild hair while making their chants!
Northwest Hawaii Times, photo by Steve Kajihiro
Coach Chow claimed it was about "player safety" mentioning the long hair and football helmets interfere with each other.
But then, why did Chow also banned the players having beards or earings, both of which are covered under the helmets and therefore, had ZERO impediment to "player safety"?
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-02/sports/sns-mct-free-time-is-over.-chow-time-begins-for-real-today-20120802_1_camp-chow-time-norm-chow
Chow has learned that only part of his duties are on the field. Since being hired in December, he assembled a staff, dealt with such matters as fertilizer purchases for the practice field, and imposed a list of no-nos: No long hair, no beards, no earrings, no tardiness.
In other words, Coach Chow wants to change the UH Warriors image. Boooooo!
Some will say "who cares about image, we just want to win".
However, the reality is that marketing is a MAJOR part of college sports!
That's why teams have mascots representing wild animals or warriors (ie Trojans, Spartans, and of course, the UH Warriors.)
They need an agressive image that the fans want to be a part of.
They need an image that the upcoming recruits want to join in!
That's why UH went from Rainbows to Warriors!
That's why we had Vili the Warrior!
That's why the wild hair was so cool! It gave the team a "rock n roll" edge mixed in with the traditional Polynesian warrior image.
The traditional Polynesian warriors didn't have crew cuts!
So there's no reason for Coach Chow to go against that tradition. Coach Chow is bringing the worst aspect of the 1800's missionary mentality with his rules against long, wild hair and beards!
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Look, I do think Norm Chow does bring some improvement on the team's offense, especially with the use of Tight Ends and Fullbacks that was absent from the UH schemes the last decade.
But if I was the next UH athletic director, I'll tell Coach Chow straight up "You're here to coach the team to victory, not to be the hairstyle police!"
and
"the Warriors were marketable with their wild hair, we're bringing it back!"
