The University of Hawaii season opener brought together old friends in the Aloha Stadium parking lot yesterday, many of them Hawaii residents donning the cardinal and gold of the USC Trojans.

"There’s a million of them," Maui resident Neil Nunokawa said of the USC alumni in Hawaii.

Nunokawa graduated from USC’s dental school in 1976, and his son graduated from there in 2005. He said his wife is the "biggest fanatic of all."

He said he always roots for UH, but with all the connections in his family to his alma mater, "we’ve got to support SC."

One of his former patients, Vanessa Kealoha, who now is a patient of Nunokawa’s son, touted UH for giving her a free education to become a special education teacher. Kealoha wore UH green and didn’t mind the competition.

"It’s an excuse to eat good food," she said.

Fans had high hopes for both teams before kickoff.

Harry Yoshino, a season-ticket holder from Manoa, supported his second most favorite school by wearing a USC tank top while tailgating with friends from California.

"He’s just being silly before the game," said his friend Greg Moore, a UH alumnus who came from Tacoma, Wash., to watch the game with his son.

Season-ticket holder Rory Lee of Kailua was happy to be tailgating again, although for this game he was dressed in a white polo and white baseball cap from USC.

"People are excited. It’s different because it’s just a new time," said Lee, a 1990 USC alumnus who is now an insurance agent. "We’re excited."

He and his family were still talking about the USC pep rally at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki the day before.

Julie Meier, a board member of the USC Hawaii Alumni Club, which organized the pep rally, said about 1,200 USC alumni live in Hawaii and about 2,000 people attended the pep rally .

"If there’s any away game they enjoy going to, it’s Hawaii," she said of alumni. "It’s such a great way to start the season."

But she was torn between her alma mater and supporting her nephew Jeremiah Ostrowski, a Warrior slotback.

"It’s so hard," she said. "The hard part was what side is Grandma going to sit with."

In the end, Brenda Diaz of Pearlridge used the ticket that Meier gave her, which was on the side with USC fans.

"Mom is sitting with me in the USC section, but I know where her heart is," Meier conceded. "She bleeds green for her grandson."

Diaz showed up with a USC shirt and a UH seat cushion in her purse. She said her husband was watching the game from home because he couldn’t decide who to root for.

Also hanging with the local USC fans was Jasmine Wong, 20, who missed a day of class at USC to attend the season opener.

Her father, Dale Wong, played UH varsity volleyball, graduating in 1976. Wong wore a cardinal USC polo shirt, carrying a green UH shirt in his hand.

"For this game, I support my daughter, then I go back to supporting UH," he said. As for the outcome, he said he’s in the middle. "Either way, I’ll be happy."

His daughter acknowledged she had some compassion for UH because of her father’s background and wouldn’t be disappointed if UH came out on top. She threw up the two fingers for Trojan victory and said, "But, fight on."