Harrison Kawate is a brilliant mind, a lawyer who gets by with wit, guile and mastery of the Socratic Method.

I’m a sports hack who gets by with puns and the sarcastic method.

Once during our nearly five-decade friendship, I bested him. Harry’s school project was on clouds, and his presentation was rich with details, facts and graphics. I bought an ant-farm kit at Pete’s Modelcraft, then filled it with ants from my Uncle James Kubo’s dirt road in Palolo — only they might not have been ants. They escaped during my speech, with half the project resulting in DBRS — death by rubbah slippahs. Harry, I recall, received a “B” because it was felt he had the capacity to do better than just good. I got an “A” because of low-ceiling expectations.

Face it, we all judge based on a sliding scale of expectations. That is why more coaching awards go to leaders of teams that out-perform preseason predictions than coaches whose teams win titles they were favored to win. That is why Saint Peter’s NCAA Tournament run is a more compelling story than Kansas’ fourth NCAA championship. And that is why there were reservations about whether the University of Hawaii football team’s “Island Day” — with food trucks, activities for kids and a Rebel Souljhaz concert surrounding the spring game — would meet the organizers’ enthusiastic ambition.

There have been a variety of spring-football festivities. The Warriors have played spring games on the non-Oahu islands. A spring event at Aloha Stadium had a pizza-eating contest involving Vili the Warrior and sportscaster Robert Kekaula. (Vili won, we think, because nobody was brave enough to challenge the results.) Head coach Nick Rolovich turned his four spring games into costumed affairs.

But “Island Day” promised special significance. It would be emblematic of first-year coach Timmy Chang’s continued power of positivity. It would show that a band of braddahs could lead the Warriors from a tumultuous offseason. And it would be a milestone that while COVID-19 will be around, it no longer will control us.

Organizers did not want just a spring game, but a simulation of regular-season game day. That meant playing in a 9,000-seat facility with metal bleachers, a row of portable bathrooms and a limited view of the video scoreboard. The jumbo video scoreboard still has not transferred from Aloha Stadium. (Which raises another question: Why is Aloha Stadium still there if it was self-condemned for spectator events 16 months ago?)

Traffic congestion was such a concern that Island Day was moved from April 23 — the actual end to spring training — because the Big West men’s volleyball championship match will be held at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center that night.

Manoa being Manoa, there was a chance of rain.

There was potential for an ant farm.

Instead, it turned into a remarkably efficient and well-received event. It did rain in the afternoon, and the concert was moved to the Sheriff Center.

Parking went smoothly because of pre-sales and the insistence of a flat $5 charge instead of the usual $7 fee for an on-campus event. (Car lines move faster when parking attendants don’t have to give singles for change.)

And fans, particularly youths, were able to mingle with players on the field after the game. Throw a party, make sure to thank the guests. Chang actually did that, taking the mic to thank organizers and attendees. The only thing that would have made this a more house-party-like atmosphere is if fans removed their footwear before entering the Ching Complex.

UH also was able to honor its past, with segments featuring former Warriors Bryant Moniz and Chad Owens. Former UH running back Afatia Thompson is an award-winning recording artist and performer, and co-owner of Tihati Productions, one of the state’s largest providers for Hawaiian and Polynesian entertainment. His son, defensive back Matagi Thompson, was one of the leaders of the Warriors’ rendition of the ha‘a.

It would be prudent for UH to keep the $5 parking fee, use the Sheriff Center as a pregame gathering area, allow fans to mingle with players after games and, of course, get a bigger video scoreboard. But for one day, UH deserves a high mark for overcoming challenges to fulfill its potential.