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UH seeks 'maniacs' for edge
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
When Jason Carter arrived at Michigan's Crisler Arena in March, a few days after injuring his arm in a heated encounter with an advertising panel at the Stan Sheriff Center, he was greeted by a student whose arm was wrapped in bandages and several others waving placards daring him to "Punch this sign."
While the "Maize Rage" worked over his team and coaching staff from a detailed two-page scouting report in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals, University of Hawai'i coach Riley Wallace didn't get mad as much as he got downright envious.
"That's what we'd like to have," Wallace said.
It remains to be seen if the fresh-off-the-drawing-board "Manoa Maniacs" can fulfill that wish, but it looks like a step in the right direction. A long overdue one.
With few exceptions — the Alika Smith-Anthony Carter years and 1990 NIT series come to mind in basketball — UH has usually lacked for a sizeable student section or the impact an imaginative one can provide.
The handful of students UH has managed to attract have usually been vocal and creative. There just haven't been enough of them on a consistent basis. And the atmosphere of the Sheriff Center, among other venues, has often suffered for it.
The more places you visit or watch on television, the more this hits home.
There are any number of reasons for its absence at UH, but few of them would seem to be insurmountable. This is where the "Maniacs" — a combined effort between a group of students and the athletic department — could come in beginning this fall.
"We want to energize the students under a brand," said John McNamara, UH associate athletic director for external affairs, whose concept will begin taking shape when students begin buying football season tickets Monday. Ticket holders will be offered the option of sitting in the area, which will be part of the existing student section.
For the students' part, Andy Lachman, an ASUH vice president, sees such participation as "one of the key elements (for) uniting the student body and creating a campus life."
Done with some imagination and taste, this has the potential to benefit all concerned. The players and teams who would get a home advantage balancing what they encounter elsewhere. It also provides an opportunity for students to get involved and for the athletic department to enhance the college atmosphere and attract more fans.
Many of the best student sections have evolved from tradition. At Michigan, head basketball coach Tommy Amaker brought with him the vision for one from his decade at Duke, and has seen it flourish in just three seasons.
You'd like to think there is no reason one can't develop here, too.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
