Rainbow Warrior pride runs deep in the Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO » If the true test of fandom is sticking with your team during the bad times, the Bay Area looks like it’s about to pass with flying colors — the colors of the Rainbow Warriors.

Aiea High and University of Hawaii graduate Daryl Higashi has spent much of his professional career the past 29 years helping develop affordable housing in the City and County of San Francisco.

For the past 15 years, nearly all of his free time seems to be devoted to keeping ex-pats connected to Hawaii, often through UH sports.

As volunteer director of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California, Higashi is instrumental in coordinating a kickoff event Friday and tailgate party Saturday in conjunction with UH’s football game at San Jose State.

"He recognizes the special bond that all of us from Hawaii share," said UH grad and San Francisco ABC7 sportscaster Larry Beil, who will emcee Saturday’s tailgate party. "And (Higashi’s) organization makes a tremendous effort to make everybody feel like we are all united in one ohana that just happens to be a few thousand miles from home."

Higashi estimates around 2,000 Hawaii fans will show at Spartan Stadium — not bad for a struggling team that has lost 17 road games in a row and at 2-8 is guaranteed a fourth consecutive losing season.

A 2010 survey indicated that around 100,000 of the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area’s eight million residents have some kind of connection to Hawaii, Higashi said.

"There are eight major colleges, all with Hawaii clubs," Higashi added. "About 90 percent of the graduates from Hawaii end up staying here, at least for a while. People call Vegas the ninth island. If that’s so, the Bay Area is truly the 10th island."

Record numbers of mainland UH fans followed the team during its undefeated 2007 season. And a vast underestimation of how many in black, green and white would need tickets and show for the ensuing Sugar Bowl in New Orleans helped cost athletic director Herman Frazier his job.

Higashi said the Bay Area’s UH fans are as disappointed as any with the program’s decline. But, if as oddsmakers expect, San Jose State beats Hawaii, the team probably won’t be booed as it is sometimes at Aloha Stadium.

"If they play a good, competitive game, even if they lose, people will cheer them," Higashi said.

Athletic director Ben Jay said he has noticed a certain brand of loyalty from the ex-pats.

"They don’t get to see us every day. They appreciate us and we certainly appreciate them," Jay said. "They support us even when we’re down."

Mainland fans aren’t blind to UH’s problems. They read and hear of falling attendance, a coach and AD on the hot seat, budget struggles, NCAA investigations in other sports. But when you’re away from home, anything bringing back memories of Hawaii is cherished — even a losing football team.

"I think if you grew up in Hawaii and went to UH, it’s in your blood," Beil said. "Even when the teams struggle, I’m always interested in seeing how they are doing. It’s agony watching them lose, especially when you’ve seen the great days. All this nonsense about getting out of Division I makes me sick. There’s a way to win at UH, but you have to hire the right people and support them."

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.