It might be a stunner to some, but our University of Hawai`i football team isn’t going to play in this year’s Sugar Bowl. Every summer we read articles hyping the incredible amount of work being put in during the offseason, great stories of players overcoming adversity, and an overly optimistic tone that this year will be special. Sometimes it is.
This team and its new coaching staff are still coming together (note: this article was written before the UH/New Mexico State game). The fans are also coming together, with lots of joy apparent at the refurbished Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex; food options are abundant and parking has been handled adeptly. Kudos to U.H. athletics for its ongoing efforts to tantalize us with an even more robust fan experience next year.
Under new head coach, Timmy Chang, the Warriors are going through expected growing pains following the out-migration of too many quality, disgruntled players. The new NCAA portal rules allow college athletes to defect/transfer easily as we watch ballers come and go everywhere on a whim. That very system might just be UH’s silver lining as we gaze forward. Local gridiron talent that leaves Hawai`i to play elsewhere just might find that the grass (or artificial turf) is not always greener on the continent, and these new rules allow players to return without having to sit out for a year. We giveth, we taketh.
So while we have to wait before the 2023 roster takes shape, let’s continue to support the 202 squad as we acknowledge that the current variation of U.H.’s semi-run and shoot offense sometimes looks more like a run and shoot-yourself-in-the-foot offense when quarterbacks aren’t given time to throw, are inaccurate, or their receivers aren’t on the same page as said QBs, who are often running for their lives. It’s about the process…
Trolls, ogres and pseudo-pundits online should be ignored (always) as the players and coaching staff buckle down to fix what’s fixable and create options on both sides of the ball for the remainder of 2022. It’s been said that the only thing that’s guaranteed in football is a 100% chance of injury. Cute. But allegedly, time heals all wounds; hopefully, even the self-inflicted ones, like bruised egos. So “Go ‘Bows!” as we watch this progressing pigskin process unfold in this new era of U.H. football with Chang at the Ching.
Think about it…