"It's just so hard to describe," said Derek Kobayashi, an attorney from Pearl City who has undergraduate and law school degrees from UH.

"It's unbelievable ... just amazing."

Hundreds of season-ticket holders yesterday continued family tailgating traditions of arriving early, gorging on ribs, Portuguese sausage, poke and nearly anything imaginable — and then staying after for post-game celebrations and more tailgating until security guards chase them away.

It's been that way for more than 25 years for Kobayashi's family, and now includes six other families of season-ticket holders.

It's a tradition that's already been burned into the soul of Kobayashi's 9-year-old son Kelsen, a fourth-grader at Momilani Elementary School, who has been coming to UH games since before he can remember.

Even when the Warriors lose, Kelsen said, "I still like coming because I like to watch them play."

But even at his young age, Kelsen appreciates what he may witness this year from his seat in blue section GG.

"I've never seen them have a perfect season before," Kelsen said.

Up and down the rows of cars and trucks filling Aloha Stadium parking lots yesterday, among smoking grills and coolers full of beer, UH fans toasted a season unlike any other.

"It's finally nice to see them gain some respect, said Darren Serra, of Salt Lake, who is the band director of Wai'anae Intermediate School.

Serra has been sitting in the same seat since 1981, even before he joined the UH marching band in 1983 as a student.

"Finally, people are saying we're good," Serra said. "Being on an island, you forget that people on the Mainland don't respect us. It's just so hard to describe this feeling."

During the lean years of UH football, sisters Betty Tahata, 78, and Grace Kunimura, 72, and Grace's husband Lloyd, 77, could get to Aloha Stadium hassle-free in 30 minutes from Kaimuki.

Yesterday it took them nearly three hours to finally park their Toyota Sienna van at the game.

"If next year is going to be like this, maybe we won't come, Tahata said.

But they will.

The three have been buying season tickets for near the roof of Aloha Stadium in yellow section M since the 1970s.

"We went through (Coach Fred) von Appen and everything," Grace said.

"We'll still come as long as we are able to walk," Grace said.

The sisters attend every UH sport but they only buy season tickets for football.