San Diego State and Hawai'i.

It's supposed to be the rivalry of baseball rivalries.

Those who followed the Rainbows when Les Murakami Stadium was still the aluminum-bleachered Rainbow Stadium know it.

Those who were around when the Aztecs were still in the Western Athletic Conference can appreciate it.

"Intense," recalled Tony Gwynn, SDSU's fourth-year coach who played for the Aztecs from 1979 to 1981. "The series were intense against Hawai'i, whether they were here or San Diego. Coach (Jim) Dietz and coach Murakami both wanted to win. Both gave the impression that there was lot more at stake than just baseball. Both sides understood it and both teams got after it."

For the new generation of Aztecs and Rainbows, this is a non-conference series. The only added hoopla is that tonight is the season opener for both teams.

For the generation before, the boos still resonate with the mention of the Aztecs.

Gwynn got the nostalgic feeling as the team bus pulled into the quarry before last night's workout. The stadium was obviously a lot different then, but the memories hit him like wind out of Manoa Valley.

"For the coaching staff, when we pulled in and saw the ballpark, man, memories just start," Gwynn said.

He especially recalled the best-of-five WAC Southern Division playoff in 1981. The series was tied at 2 and the Aztecs squandered a 5-1 lead after five innings, losing 6-5 in Game 5.

"We were winning late," Gwynn recalled. "(Colin) Tanabe hit a ball into right-center field that we thought the right fielder should've caught, didn't, and we ended up getting beat and that left a bitter taste in your mouth."

Yet, despite the passionate way Gwynn recalled the old WAC rivalry, he still couldn't sell it to his players.

"These kids don't have any idea about how it used to be," he said. "These kids are a different generation. They just think, 'Hawai'i' and have no idea of the rivalry and what it was like. We try to explain it to them. They don't get it, so you just kind of roll with the punches. But the coaching staff, we've been chirping (about the old times) here for the last 24 hours."

Gwynn notices other differences between the generations. As a coach, Gwynn said he has to accept the ways of this age, such as his players dabbling on their XBox games on the plane ride as he was scribbling possible lineups for the series.

"They haven't gotten to that point where baseball is the most important thing in their lives," Gwynn said. "They got other things going on and as a coach, you have to step back and let them live their lives, let them do things that they have to do and at the same time trying to get them focused playing winning baseball."

Gwynn said he noticed his son, Anthony, who played for him at SDSU, has learned to appreciate the game more as he labors through the Milwaukee organization.

"For a lot of these guys, that light doesn't go on until they leave college," Gwynn said. "For some kids' cases, it's too late. For other kids' cases, it happens in the nick of time. As a coach, you have to able to adapt, trust these guys even though sometimes they don't trust you. I know it sounds crazy having said that, but I love my job."

He is so serious about the job, which he took when Dietz retired after the 2002 season, that he told ESPN he will take this season off from its national telecasts.

"I like the pro game, too, but I feel like I'm at the right place in my life," Gwynn said. "I'm doing what I want to do and that's more important."

Gwynn would like to play Hawai'i more regularly. But with a Feb. 1 starting date for practice beginning with the 2008 season, he said it might be difficult.

"It kind of fits, but we've been talking about it, so from our standpoint, we'd like to get it going again," Gwynn said.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.