In search of a rival, trophies

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Columnist

It saddens us this day to report that General Laurence S. Kuter is apparently missing in action.

Wait, let's rephrase that. The General Laurence S. Kuter Trophy is apparently MIA.

Surely you remember the coveted Gen. Kuter Trophy?

It is — or, at least, once was — the most visible rivalry symbol in University of Hawai'i football. Named after the first commander of the Pacific Air Forces command, it was a symbol of competition between UH and the Falcons that went to the winner of the annual football game from 1980-'97.

Like the Paniolo Trophy — you recall that one, right? — which went to the winner of the UH-Wyoming series, it gathered dust when Air Force and Wyoming bolted the Western Athletic Conference following the 1997 season.

With UH and Air Force scheduled to renew play next week, this time as non-conference opponents, a call went out for the Gen. Kuter Trophy.

And a disturbing reply came back.

"Uh...don't know anything about it," said an academy athletic spokesperson.

"Hmmm, it's not here," said a secretary in the football office, where it was last seen in the midst of a four-game Falcon winning streak.

Nor could people in the football office at Wyoming immediately account for the whereabouts of the Paniolo Trophy, either.

We bring it up this week because during a time of the year when other schools are revved up for rivalries, playing for the Apple Cup, Beehive Boot, the old Oaken Bucket, Floyd of Rosedale and other assorted farm implements and hardware, the Warriors have ...

Well, they don't even have the Kuter or Paniolo trophies anymore.

While other schools engage in The Big Game, Civil War, Iron Bowl etc., the Warriors have, well, none of it to look forward to.

Nothing against Miami (Ohio), which nevertheless figures to be a handful for the Warriors on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium, but this is the time of the year when it feels like we're missing out on something. It is a point in the season when, no matter how the Warriors might be doing, the absence of a rivalry game and the accompanying spark, is felt.

Since the departure from the WAC of Brigham Young, the team in blue that made UH fans see red, there has been a significant void. Though the Cougars are back on the schedule this year and next, it might not be quite the same since there is no conference title riding on the outcome for either team and a lot of the once-familiar faces have changed.

Given the last couple years, the burgeoning Fresno State series has possibilities. But it lacks a significant piece of hardware to be fought over. Or, at least hoisted above the heads of the winners in triumph.

In the meantime, maybe it is time to send out a search party for the Kuter Trophy.