The cult of Colt
Posted in Sports by RB on December 4th, 2007 The Sugar Bowl has a long history, and an invitation to play in New Orleans on New Years Day has been the highlight of many a college football player. There are two Sugar Bowl teams’ whose stories are similar, and they will be playing each other for the first time on the first day of 2008.
Twenty-seven years ago the Bulldogs ended the regular season while the fans cheered to Munson’s call of “Look at the sugar falling from the sky.” They faced the storied Fighting Irish and capped a season that will never be forgotten in our state (much to the chagrin of us Techies). This year UGA is the national powerhouse facing Warriors - a team which, despite its undefeated regular season, has garnered little respect. But don’t tell that to the fans in the Aloha state.
The locals just can’t stop talking about U of H football. Just the mention of it these days makes them stand a bit taller, and everyone is a fan. I think I’ve met more season ticket holders than the stadium has seats! And while they appreciate the entire team and its coach (former Falcons’ coach June Jones), Colt Brennan’s status here far surpasses anything Herschel Walker reached. Colt may have been born in California, but he has been adopted as a true kama’aina. As if breaking passing records and putting his school on the national radar weren’t enough to endear himself to the locals, he is also studying the Samoan and Hawaiian languages. He makes time for any fan who wants his attention and, to hear some talk, starts his day by jogging from island to island.
The 2008 Sugar Bowl marks only the second time that the Warriors have been to a bowl game on the mainland. Win or lose, it’s something their fans will never forget. 2007 has been one of those years here where the sport becomes bigger than what happens on the field. It’s a source of state (or, as some here would say, national) pride the likes of which the islanders could never experience any other way.
