Any win vs. Tide is a boost
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Columnist
For 30 years, television executive Rick Blangiardi has proudly carried in his wallet a small square leather reminder of the game ball from the University of Hawai'i's victory at Washington in 1973.
That the Huskies went on to a 2-9 record that year hasn't diminished at all one of the biggest victories in school history for Blangiardi, who was on the defensive coaching staff of a team that wasn't classified Division I at the time.
Nor has Nebraska's 5-5 record in 1955 lessened the magnitude of UH's 6-0 victory over the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Neb., a victory made all the more remarkable by the fact the Rainbows lost 50-0 just 10 months earlier.
And while a victory over Alabama today on the friendly FieldTurf of Aloha Stadium wouldn't approach those two triumphs or the milestone 1992 Holiday Bowl victory over Illinois, the point here is that the Crimson Tide's current low-rent 4-8 record wouldn't subtract from what a win would mean for the Warriors, either.
If — and, remember despite the Crimson slide that Alabama is still a three-point favorite — the Warriors were to pull off a win today, it would still be a significant accomplishment for a program that can use all it can get. It would be the kind of trophy that would grow by the year.
The Warriors had dreamed of going into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and making a statement against a Southern California team that has since emerged as one of the best in the land. That didn't happen in what became a 61-32 loss.
Now, when it comes to marquee name opposition, it is blessed to have one such opportunity left, Alabama. UH will finish out with two teams, Boise State (10-1) and, possibly Louisville (9-3) in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, that have better records than Alabama. But it will be a while before they tee it up against anybody that carries anywhere near the same cachet.
These are the sons of Bear Bryant and the legacy of Joe Namath. Beating Alabama, even with a record that is ugly, is still going to sparkle better than any of the wins the Warriors have this season. In a couple of years, few will remember that the Tide rolled in here having lost four of its last five games. That's what a century of Alabama tradition, 12 national championships and 91 All-Americans attaches to the game.
It took more than 100 years to get the Crimson Tide here for a UH game and the only reason Alabama was on the schedule last year or this season is that it wanted a "bowl-like" experience to keep its players from defecting during NCAA-imposed probation. Alabama might not be back until it runs afoul of the law again, if then.
For the Warriors, this is too good of an opportunity to squander.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
