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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Saturday, March 26, 2005

Warriors' silver scheme clashes with some

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Reaction was mixed to Thursday's news that the University of Hawai'i football team will add silver to its color scheme.

UH coach June Jones said the Warriors, through their new three-year agreement with Nike sports apparel company, will add silver helmets and silver jerseys to their wardrobe for the 2005 season.

Since Jones became UH coach in December 1998 , the Warriors have used dark green helmets that appear to be black from the stadium stands. They have worn black or green jerseys for home games and white tops for road games. Yesterday, Jones said the Warriors will rotate between the dark green and silver helmets.

At the RainBowTique in Ward Centre — one of two stores that sells UH sports apparel exclusively — the Warriors' new color scheme drew discussion.

"I think they should stick with black," said Ricky Ho, 27, of Mililani. "It's more powerful, I guess."

Michael Ho of Hawai'i Kai said: "I like the old scheme, with the green helmets. I like the color green. I'm partial to the color green."

But Miye Kasadate, 16, of Los Angeles, said she would buy silver-colored UH merchandise during her next visit to Hawai'i. "It's OK," said Kasadate, who bought several UH products yesterday.

"I think the color change will be good," said Aaron Voboril, a visitor from Estes Park, Colo. "I do. The colors they have now don't seem to be as attractive as they could be, I guess. (Silver) could be an improvement."

Jones said adding to the team's color scheme will help generate more sales of UH merchandise. At the RainBowTique, a replica dark green helmet is priced at $299. At UH's official "Online Store," a youth football jersey is priced at $29.99.

Jones said he chose to add silver to the color scheme of black and green because "black and silver are the most popular colors" in sports merchandising. Jones said Nike did not dictate adding silver to the color scheme.

Jones said he does not receive a sponsorship fee from Nike.

All proceeds from the sales of UH sports merchandise go to the department of auxiliary services, which deposits the money into the school's general fund. The athletic department does not share directly in the sale of UH merchandise bearing the "H" logo used by the athletic teams.

"We're doing this to help the school," Jones said.

Hope DeFries, a Chaminade student, said the color scheme "doesn't matter. I'll buy (UH apparel) no matter what. They just need to keep winning."

Jason Johnson, a former Isle resident now living in Huntsville, Ala., also said he would buy the new silver-colored merchandise. But he said he hoped the Warriors would add a retro collection.

"I liked it when they were the Rainbow Warriors," he said, referring to the 'Rainbow' nickname that was discontinued by the football team in 2000. "I thought that was hot when they had the rainbows on them. I appreciate them trying to be a little more aggressive-looking, but you're in Hawai'i. ... I guess it was some cultural thing connected to the Warriors. I'm like, I don't see why you changed the (rainbow) logo. I liked the dark green with the rainbow. I would like to see the rainbow come back. That was cool."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.