Stephen Tsai: It wouldn't be a wonderful life without UH football
Sep. 13—When I was a kid, I grumbled about an itchy rash on my arm. The advice was : Would you rather have an itchy arm or no arm at all ?
When I was a kid, I grumbled about an itchy rash on my arm. The advice was : Would you rather have an itchy arm or no arm at all ?
Even then I thought : Hey, Confucius, that's stupid.
Every time the University of Hawaii football team struggles—and an 0-3 start to the season is a struggle—the suggestions range from install the run-and-shoot to drop the program. The itch-or-ditch approach still prevails. Well, George Bailey, this is what life would be like if Rainbow Warriors football never existed :—Hawaii would not have been host to the Pro Bowl, or concerts from Michael Jackson, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Guns N' Roses, Eminem and Bruno Mars. Stevie Wonder would not have performed at Aloha Stadium because without UH football, there would be no Halawa stadium. It was Gov. John Burns' determination to build a Division I-worthy facility for UH football games. No Warriors means no swap meet, 50th State Fair or that Christmas wonderland.—There would not be nationally ranked volleyball teams. It was seed money from UH football that kick-started and then supported the non-football programs. There would have been no Bow-Zos because there would not have been a Klum Gym, which was named after football coach Otto "Proc " Klum. Without football, UH would have club teams and intramural competition but not Division I intercollegiate sports programs. There would not have been a need for more than one athletic department leader, meaning there probably would not have been an opening for Donnis Thompson, widely credited as the founder of UH women's athletics.—UH football's non-existence would trickle down to basketball and baseball. It was football's WAC membership that allowed basketball and baseball to accompany as plus-two guests. There would not be a Stan Sheriff Center because Stan Sheriff, whose background was in football, would not have been UH's athletic director. Sheriff was a driving force in the construction of the on-campus arena. And Rainbow baseball needed WAC membership to attract opponents. Without UH baseball, there is no Derek Tatsuno mania, 1980 College World Series appearance and, most tragic, no broadcasting future for Howard Dashefsky.—There would be no Rainbow Marching Band.—No women's soccer team or track and field program, no ha 'a, no Vili the Warrior, no playing of "Hawaii Five-0."—In that alternate universe, the Aloha Classic basketball tournament would not be staged in a non-NCAA state. Marty Blake—the NBA's version of Mel Kiper Jr.—would have no showcase for Dennis Rodman. Rodman's performance there led to the Portsmouth Invitational, where he was named MVP and sparked the way to an NBA career. Good luck on Jason Caffey rebounding or screening for Michael Jordan in 1995. Would Utah be in the Pac-12 if envy did not inspire facility improvements following UH's Holiday Bowl victory in 1992 ?—Telecasts of non-football sporting events ? Dream on. It costs a lot of money to produce an event. Football is the big advertising attraction. It was Rick Blangiardi who re-branded KIKU into KHNL, and expanded the TV rights for UH football games to all sports. Eventually, KHNL spawned KFVE. self-styled as the "Home Team " because of the concentration on UH sports. Oceanic eventually won the television rights to UH sports. In 2016, Charter Communications purchased the parent company of Oceanic. Charter is the parent of Spectrum. The chain reaction started because of Blangiardi's vision. Without UH football, Blangiardi probably would have followed a different path. He was a UH football player and then assistant coach before embarking on a career in television.—Without UH football, heralded sportscaster Jim Leahey would have remained as a teacher at Campbell High. "How sweet it is " would not be the tagline to the Warriors' 1989 victory over BYU, because there would not be a UH-BYU rivalry.—ESPN Honolulu was derived from the Rainbow Sports Network, which was based on the popularity of UH football.—Colt Brennan would not have enchanted a state, and Davone Bess and Pisa Tinoisamoa would not have gone on to NFL careers. June Jones offered second chances to them. Jones took a pay cut to leave the NFL and become UH's coach only because of his affinity for Hawaii after spending time as a Warriors quarterback and assistant coach. Without Jones, there is no debate on whether it is Ryan Grice-Mullen or Grice-Mullins because nobody else was recruiting a quarterback from an 0-10 high school team to play slotback.—No walk-on program would mean no football future for Ashley Lelie, Ikaika Alama-Francis and Chad Owens. And there certainly would not be a place for an athlete best known for diving to develop into an all-league safety, 11-year NFL veteran and successful businessman and sportscaster. "UH saved my life, " Rich Miano said.
Would it be a wonderful life without UH football ?
