This year, she said that they skipped the beach, and tailgated at Aloha Stadium, where UH played Houston in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

"We did this last year, too, and it feels like it's becoming tradition now," Tui Moe said. "We hope we can come next year again."

And after Hawai'i's thrilling 54-48 triple-overtime victory yesterday, who can argue with that?

The Moe family weren't alone celebrating Christmas at the stadium.

UH graduate student Keli'i Kotubetey, 25, said if the football players could sacrifice their Christmas to come out and play, it was the least he could do to support them.

"Timmy Chang is the reason for this season," Kotubetey said.

For others attending yesterday's game, it was merely a matter of options.

"There is nothing better to do after the gifts," said Vic Parina.

To fans like Randy Shinagawa of 'Aina Haina, having a game on Christmas Day made the event even more special.

He said he came to the game because "my girlfriend suggested it, and I thought, 'Why not?' There's nothing better than to celebrate UH football on Christmas day."

It is the first time this season Shinagawa attended a football game, and he said he came because "the bowl game makes it more exciting."

For Stockholm, Sweden native Christa Ekbla, it was his first football game ever.

"We have Christmas on the 24th in Sweden," Ekbla, 22, said.

Meagan Cheney, who is from Houston but now lives in Honolulu, said that having a bowl game in Hawai'i was "huge."

"A lot of the people came from Houston and we knew them, so it was huge. I'm homesick, this is my first Christmas away, and this feels like home," Cheney said.

Cheney's friend, Phillip Winston, who now lives in Boston, is a University of Houston alumni who normally spends his Christmas in Texas. He planned his trip when he found out about Houston making the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

"I came because it's been a long time since we've been to a bowl game. And Hawai'i? Who can pass that up?" Winston said.

Apparently, many Hawai'i fans did.

Attendance dropping

Attendance for Christmas Day bowl games in Hawai'i continued its downward trend. The Jeep O'ahu Bowl in 1999, which Hawai'i defeated Oregon State, 23-17, drew 40,974 fans. Last year, in the ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl when Hawai'i lost 36-28 to Tulane, it dropped to 35,513.

Yesterday, the crowd was announced at 25,551.

Hawai'i's regular-season home attendance was 41,308 for seven games.

Bus driver Sam Leong, who normally averages 48 passengers in his shuttle service, picked up four yesterday on his Kahala Mall route.

It was worse for Kelbert Noble, who had none in the University route.

"I don't know what happened today," Leong said. "During the regular season I drove the shuttle three times, and there were almost 60 people riding."

Leong said that he believed the bowl game being played on Christmas Day had a lot to do with the drop in attendance, but that he didn't mind working.

"The job has to be done," he said. "I don't mind doing it. It is actually kind of relaxing."

Parking plentiful

Parking attendant supervisor Dolores Barcelona said that normally her section of the parking lot is almost full 45 minutes before the game. Yesterday at that time, about 900 of the 1,700 spots were taken.

Barcelona, of Honolulu, said that her normal Christmas schedule was not impacted by a football game.

"What else was I going to do?" Barcelona said. "I'd rather be working and getting paid."

Jim Donovan, Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl executive director, said, "It's a traditional family day, but we started at 3 p.m., so hopefully people could enjoy their family traditions and then come out to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

"I was hoping for an exciting game and we certainly got one."