"I've always wanted to come to the Coliseum because of all the prestige," said James Hill, of Kane'ohe. "This is cool."

"You know about the tradition," added Kenui Flores, also of Kane'ohe. "It's pretty impressive."

Flores, a trust officer for Bank of Hawai'i, said his last UH road trip was the 1992 Holiday Bowl in San Diego. It seems Las Vegas — UH's next destination for a game against UNLV — was the drawing card for the trip.

"I did it because of the back-to-back (situation) with Vegas," he said.

But not all were impressed.

"Ours (Aloha Stadium) is better," said Elena Martinez, of Pearl City.

The three were among an estimated 800 fans dressed in UH apparel. There were a number of tour groups, while some, like Hill, combined work with vacation. Hill said he was here on computer business earlier in the week.

"It just worked out with work," he said.

Not all of the Hawai'i supporters traveled from the Islands. Nelson Ha'o, of 'Aiea, is attending Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, where he will be a freshman on the baseball team.

"I no can believe this," he said upon entering the seating area before the game. "It's mean. Nuts. It's on."

Even though he lives in Southern California, it was obvious where his allegiances were.

"UH all the way," he yelled.

Most of the UH supporters were seated in the end zone opposite the side where the Olympic torch was lit during the 1984 Games. The sections where the Hawai'i people were sitting were the only ones not dominated by cardinal and gold, the Trojans' colors. In fact, the UH crowd was dwarfed in the 92,000-seat facility. The announced attendance was 73,654.

"This is cool," said Hill of his first UH road trip. "It feels different to be the minority."

Martinez, who works at a Starbucks store, said she was surprised at the number of people who made the trip.

"There's so many people (whom I know that) I'm running into," she said. "I've seen people I hardly see at home."

The men in Martinez's group wore grass skirts.

The fans' presence wasn't lost on the UH players. They appreciated the support, even in a lopsided loss.

"It was awesome," UH quarterback Tim Chang said. "It's good to see the love and support on the road. I know we're going to see a lot more at UNLV."

The Warriors play the Rebels on Friday at Sam Boyd Stadium.