NEW ORLEANS — Few of the University of Georgia football players are sure how it started, but as the University of Hawai'i has rallied around its renditions of the haka and ha'a, the Bulldogs have embraced what they and their fans have come to call the "Soulja Boy Dance."

At first the hip-hop favorite was background music in Sanford Stadium but somewhere along the line it has developed into something of an anthem for the No. 5 team in college football and is sure to be a part of the Bulldogs in Tuesday's Sugar Bowl.

"It brings us together; it gets the blood pumping," said backup running back Jason Johnson who, along with starting tailback Knowshon Moreno, are said to be two of the early practicioners.

"We do it when we feel good or when we need to get something going," center Fernando Velasco said.

The Bulldog band plays it and the fans join the players in dancing to it. Some Bulldog coaches have even given it a shot. One game the mood became so infectious that a Georgia spokesman said the CBS Sports crew broadcasting the game broke into a dance step.

So far Georgia head coach Mark Richt is a holdout. "One of these days, maybe," tackle Chester Adams said.

"Not going to happen," Richt declared.

As for the haka and ha'a, Johnson said: "We've seen what they (the Warriors) do, but it looks hard. Ours is more of a fun thing. But if it works for them, that's good, too. Whatever gets you loose and ready to go."

WHO'S YOUR DOG?

Does anybody here want to be the favorite?

Because it is playing in its first Bowl Championship Series game and Georgia is an eight-point favorite on the betting lines, UH maintains it is the Sugar Bowl underdog.

"We're definitely the underdog here," said quarterback Colt Brennan.

Not necessarily, say the Bulldogs.

"Hawai'i is the team that is 12-0, so I think that they have just as good of a chance of winning as we do," said Sam Bailey, a Georgia wide receiver.

PARTING GIFTS

Former UH assistant coach Darrell "Mouse" Davis, now an assistant at Portland State under Jerry Glanville, said the two will be getting rings along with the current Warriors' coaches.

"One day a couple weeks ago Jerry told me we had to find a jeweler's shop in Portland to get measured for rings," Davis recalled.

"I asked him, 'what the heck do we need with rings' and he told me June (Jones) was giving them to us.' I said, 'why' and he told me, 'because if we hadn't of left (UH) they wouldn't have gone undefeated this season.'

"So, we're going to get our rings," Davis said.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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