Obviously, the Sugar Bowl didn't turn out the way I wanted.
While the pre-game hype was on whether UH can stop Georgia's running backs, the bigger factor was that UH's offensive line couldn't stop Georgia's defense from sacking Colt Brennan so many times.
Other thoughts on the state of UH Athletics .
1) Last Thanksgiving, one of my uncles (who is usually pessimistic and can talk for eternity) kept saying that even if UH made it to a major mainland bowl game, there would hardly be any UH fans at the game! I kept telling my uncle that UH had a lot of fans attending road games at San Jose State and UNLV! He just said "those were former Hawaii residents currently living on the mainland".
He then said not many current Hawaii residents would be able to make the trip to the mainland for a major bowl game. He then said because there won't be enough UH fans at a mainland bowl game, the bowl organizers will think "why bother invite UH again, not many would show up"
My uncle then actually said that the Hawaii state legislature should have a special session so that the state government could assist Hawaii residents in getting to a mainland bowl. As well as hooking Hawaii residents with charter planes, hotel rooms, dining arrangements and buses to the stadium. I guess no government is too big a government for my uncle!
The people of Hawaii proved my uncle wrong! There weren't enough tickets to meet Hawaii's demand. At least 20,000 Hawaii residents made it to New Orleans. They didn't need the government's help in getting there!
In fact, many people in New Orleans were surprised that many people from Hawaii were able to travel to their city for the game.
Yes, Georgia fans did outnumber Hawaii fans, but so what? USC fans outnumbered Illinois fans at the Rose Bowl. USC is closer to Pasadena. Georgia is closer to New Orleans. But my uncle was wrong in thinking that UH won't be able to sell tickets to the Sugar Bowl!
2) Now on to my other relative
My oldest brother has the opposite view on how much support college athletics should get! He think's UH spends too much money on athletics.
He said a few years back that "June Jones better win, with all that money he's making" in a tone that expressed that June Jones is a bad person for making $800,000 a year!
(by the way, I had a sociology professor on juvenille delinquency who blamed EVERY university and society's problem on the $$$ spent on college sports. For more on him , go to my blog at http://pablothemadtiger.blogspot.com/2003_11_01_archive.html and scroll down to November 21. 2003's post)
The idea that UH spends too much $$$ on athletics is nonsense!
If UH really spent a lot of money on athletics, Colt Brennan wouldn't have publicly complained about sub-standard facilities at UH! He even said last summer that there wasn't enough soap in the locker rooms! (And people have the nerve to complain UH spends too much on athletics)
Brennan said that Colorado's athletic facilities (where Brennan spent his first year of college athletics) was "galaxies away" from what UH got!
Sports reporters have said that not only is UH's facilities are inferior to big name schools like Colorado, Georgia, Ohio State or USC, it's even inferior to our fellow Western Athletic Conference schools like Fresno State or San Jose State.
And this crap about June Jone's contract in 2003 as excessive. All because he makes $800,000 a year. $800,000 is NOTHING in college football! Southern Methodist University (which hasn't had a winning football team in decades) is currently offering June Jones a $ 2 million a year contract!
In fact, at major universities, football coaches make at least $2 million a year. Tell the people at Georgia that "$800,000 a year is excessive" they'll laugh at you! Georgia's coach makes a lot more than that!
ANd when June Jones first got hired to coach at UH, Jones rejected a $1.5 million a year contract from the NFL's San Diego Chargers!
People said in 2003, "why are we spending more on June Jones than on professors?" When a college pays coaches, they're not comparing coach's salary to professor's salary, they're comparing their coach's salary to other school's coach's salary. This is basic economics here!
If a professor can have an average live audience of 30,000 a lecture, and an average TV audience of at least 50,000 a lecture, and be responsible for selling tons of merchandise, then we can offer professors a $800,000 a year contract.
If anyone is underpaid, it's Colt Brennan. College athletes aren't allowed to get paid on merchandise with their # on it! And I see those #15 jerseys everywhere! And Colt Brennan is not making a cent off it!
3) As for the money coming in from the Sugar Bowl -- people are arguing over whether UH should spend in on Lower Campus (where UH athletic facilities are) or on Upper Campus (where UH academic facilities are).
I'm guessing, there'll be a compromise.
My oldest brother and that juvenille delinquency professor thinks sports is UH's #1 priority.
Give Me a Break!
Most college administrators nationwide have to compromise to satisy many special interest groups. They gotta satisfy the science researchers, the business schools, the humanities faculty, the athletic department, student activists, activist faculty members, the ROTC, fraternities & sororities, maintenance workers, library staff, etc, etc.
So when they work on budgets, they gotta satisfy as many demands as possible.
But the athletics haters won't be happy until zero money is spent on college athletics.
I was never an athletic person, but I can't stand the excessive jealousy towards the UH athletic department that's not even 10% as rich as the athletic departments of Georgia, USC, Ohio State, etc.
4) On autographs
I was never the type to beg for autographs.
When I'm in public and I see a local celebrity like UH volleyball coaches Dave Shoji & Mike Wilton, UH football coach June Jones, TV reporter Bernadette Baraquio, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hanneman, or even Colt Brennan, I don't even ask for an autographs.I just say "Hi (fill in blank)" or "Are you (fill in blank)".
Afterwards, I just continue on what I was doing before seeing those celebrities. They're busy too and I don't want to be an interference.
Yet, there are people who harrass Colt Brennan for autographs. They wait outside his classes just to demand he sign a ton of items. They take advantage of his generosity by demanding he sign a ton of items after practice, nevermind that it's a long walk from the practice field to the locker room, and that Brennan has to shower, attend classes, etc.
Even after an autograph session was obviously over, and Colt Brennan had to attend to other business, some jerk yells at him "You owe us!"
Local sports announcer Bobby Curran wrote about this issue, and the title of the article is "No, brah, Colt does not owe you a thing" http://www.midweek.com/content/columns/curranevents_article/no_brah_colt_does_not_owe_you_a_thing/
5) Here's some commentary from the Honolulu Advertiser's chatrooms
http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com/warriorbeat.php/2008/01/02/bravo
Warning: the following comments are coming from those who celebrated Hawaii's loss in the Sugar Bowl over the prejudice they experienced in Hawaii!
Comment from: aloha my butt [Visitor]to bad everyone in hawaii keeps talking about the aloha that the warriors showed the world of college football, because i constantly hear "f-ing" haole this, haole that, such a racists group some "hawaiians". So i don't understand why everyone in hawaii nai keeps talking about how proud they are of their aloha? You people are some of the most racists people I have ever experienced,aloha from Kauai!01/02/08 @ 07:18
Comment from: hawaii haten texan [Visitor]I couldn't have been happier watching the demise of the Hawaii football team last night - each sack Colt Brennan received felt like a payback for the way my family was treated while living in Hawaii... Aloha.. my butt... racist - yes you all are.. I'm with settle down up there.. you talk about aloha out of one side of your mouth and call us f'in haoles out the other side. Thanks UGA for giving the Hawaiians a reality check and a reminder which country you DO belong to...01/02/08 @ 07:49
Here are some replies to Hawaii HatenTexan
Comment from: hilogreg [Visitor]h h texanglad to hear you won't be coming this way soon..btw we just signed your 5-A H.S.champ QB..and many of our defensive players are from Texas, we love Texans ..as long as they are not from Crawford01/02/08 @ 07:55
Comment from: Da Punchbowl Kid [Visitor]h h texan,And what did Colt Brennan ever do to you? Your name says it all, "haten". I'm sorry if you had bad experiences here, but what does that have to do with UH Football?01/02/08 @ 07:57
Comment from: Da Punchbowl Kid [Visitor]hilo greg,Well said bro. Let's not forget that one of the Warrior captains for the coin toss yesterday was a kid from an awesome Texan family. Ma and Pa Patek must have been sooo proud of Jacob last night.01/02/08 @ 08:01
And here was my reply under a nickname Rainbow Man
Comment from: rainbow man [Visitor]To those who wanted Hawaii to lose because of the "anti-haole attitude" here
1) Racial prejudice happens everywhere (even in Georgia, where the grandfathers of at least 60% of the current footballers weren't allowed to attend UGa 50 years ago)
2) The European-Americans in Georgia better respect all the African-Americans for contributing to their great victory in the Sugar Bowl!
3)To that guy who celebrated the sack of Colt Brennan saying it was payback for the anti-haole prejudice he experienced in Hawaii- Let's not forget that European-Americans like Coach June Jones, assistant coaches Dennis McKnight, Greg McMackin, Dan Morrison, and Rich Miano and players Colt Brennan, Jacob Patek, Dan Kelly, Tyler Graunke, etc. contributed a great deal to the great Hawaii football seasons!
For those mainlanders to celebrate every sack of European-American Colt Brennan for all the "anti-haole prejudice" they experience is sick.
And we in Hawaii also have to appreciate the contribution of European-Americans to our team. So even if you experienced prejudice from the "white man", remember the good European-American folks like June Jones and Colt Brennan01/02/08 @ 15:32
Also, I want to mention that Colt Brennan, Jacob Patek, June Jones etc took a risk coming to Hawaii. Most likely, being at UH was the 1st time in their life they were a racial minority! They probably experienced some culture shock! But they handled their adjustment really well, and they respected the local cultures!
