SAN DIEGO >> It was a bucket-list item for some. For others, it was a reason to pull out apparel with the old-school Rainbow logo, items dating to when it was the only logo for the University of Hawaii.
For many, it was an obligation to be there Saturday night under a near-full moon at Snapdragon Stadium. Former Rainbows and Warriors letterwinners coming out to support the current “bruddahhood” that they had been a part of decades earlier.
Regardless of the why, there was a bond among the hundreds of Hawaii fans in pockets scattered around the months-old stadium that is the new home for the San Diego State Aztecs.
And, for 72 seconds, there was jubilation as the Warriors took their first lead when senior running back Dedrick Parson scampered in from 22 yards out with 1:19 remaining and Matthew Shipley tacked on the PAT kick. Hawaii’s second touchdown came near the corner where the UH band and dozens of members of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Parents Facebook group sat and where Hawaiian flags were being waved.
In the end, the Warriors defense couldn’t hold, leading to the game-winning field goal by the Aztecs with two seconds left. SDSU (3-1) pulled it out 16-14 in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
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“The support was unbelievable,” Warriors coach Timmy Chang said after dropping to 1-5. “There’s an event at our hotel. They came to the walk-through (Friday). I got my former teammates who live in San Diego here.
“This is the Hawaii faithful. Some flew with us or made their way down to beautiful San Diego. I love and thank them all. I just wish we could have won it for them.
“It was tough, but we know the support and love will continue. We want our aloha to be all over the country.”
The reciprocation came from near and far, from Hawaii and Texas, as well as up and down California.
“It’s a thrill to see them play in person,” said former UH football player Jack Meier (1970-71), who drove down from Laguna Niguel some 60 miles north. “It’s a bucket-list item to see them here.”
Steve Hill (1969-70), who also lives in Orange County, drove down with Meier and “I’m here because I don’t get to see them anymore (in person) now that I live on the mainland.
“There’s about 15 of us from our era here. And I got to stay at a beautiful home owned by one of my teammates, Don Weir.”
Weir (1972-73) organized several events, one at his nearby home on Friday for former UH football players and another for UH letterwinners from any sport at “Nonna’s” in the Little Italy section of town.
“As I told my fellow letterwinners, to one who much is given, much is expected,” said Weir, former president of the UH Letterwinners Club and first executive director of Na Koa, the UH football booster club. “I owe my undergraduate degree to the university.
“When I was living in Hawaii, I did whatever I could do to help other letterwinners. Now I live in San Diego, where I grew up. I didn’t want to go to San Diego State, I wanted to go to Hawaii. Hawaii was coming to my hometown and this is what we do. There’s a bond with my UH teammates, and these guys were used to being together. I look at it that we were a team out there, and now that we’ve graduated we’re still team members but at a different level as letterwinners.”
Phil Bennett lives just outside of El Paso, Texas. He said that his son Evan, a sophomore at UH, has a number of friends on the football team.
“He couldn’t go to games last year because of COVID (restrictions), so our family started going to UH away games last year to support the team.
“We’ve met a lot of the parents, gotten to know them, and we continue to go to the away games.”
Shannon Anderson lives in nearby Carlsbad. Her son Ryan is a UH senior and she became involved with the parents’ Facebook group.
“We know we’re in a rebuilding year,” she said. “And we’re hoping it keeps getting better.”
Sitting together were board members of the UH Letterwiners club Terry Malterre and Shelley Kahuanui Fey. Malterre was an All-American in volleyball and member of the Wahine’s 1979 AIAW championship team. Her son Waika Spencer played for San Diego State (2005-08) and also was at the game.
“We’re here to support the team as letterwinners and board members,” said Fey, a former Wahine basketball player whose son, Kupono, played volleyball for the Warriors and recently was named an assistant coach with the program. “We’ve seen a lot of UH logo gear here.”
Added Shane Mahelona, a 1989 Kamehameha graduate now living in San Diego: “I went to Oregon State, but I grew up watching UH football. I’m here to support the University of Hawaii.”
