It got really quiet, really fast in the first quarter. Jim Vrechek, the University of Hawaii fan sitting to my left, asks if I think Greg McMackin needs to call a double timeout.
Maybe. But if I were in his spot, down three touchdowns, I’d probably want a double martini, instead.
At the break before the second quarter only one guy speaks. He’s sitting near the end of the bar at Murphy’s, wearing a once-purple cap with a faded gold “W.” “Too early to gloat,” he says. This is what I like about mature fans. They act like they’ve been there before. Because they have.
Doug Lamerson knows what following a national championship team feels like. But he also knows a double-digit, first-quarter lead can evaporate faster than you can say “Hawaii-Washington, 2007.”
As one of just a few Huskies fans amid a gathering at Murphy’s greener only on St. Patrick’s Day, Lamerson waited it out in respectful fashion.
Early on, Washington dictated the tempo. It took advantage of a big Hawaii turnover and soft defense and built a 21-0 first-quarter lead. But Lamerson is also familiar with UH football and how the Warriors could come back and make a game of it. Which they did. “I’m a UH alum, but I’ve got strong ties to Seattle,” says Lamerson, who works at the East-West Center at UH. “Any other situation and I’d be rooting for Hawaii.”
At the end, Judy Marsh, the UH fan sitting to my right, calmly says she hopes the Warriors learn and improve from the loss. Why can’t more fans be like her?
PERHAPS YOU CAN’T because you’re frustrated — because you bought into the notion that all of these unranked BCS conference teams are the same, and that beating Colorado at home means Washington would be no problem either — wherever you play them. You now know that to be wrong. Maybe we can also agree on the following: >> Stop saying this is the best UH defense ever. It doesn’t matter anyway. What matters is that it gets better each week and plays well enough to win the game. Obviously, that didn’t happen Saturday.
>> The Root Sports network is lacking. Apparently, down-and-distance graphics and a relevant replay once in a while aren’t included in the $65 price tag.
>> Without Bryant Moniz’s athleticism and escapability, it would’ve been a much longer afternoon for the Warriors. He kept them in the game. So did Richard Torres with the spectacular interception and 99-yard touchdown return.
>> You’ve heard and read this a million times, but you can’t turn over the ball as a road underdog and expect to win. Make that, you can’t turn over the ball in the red zone under any circumstances and expect to win.
>> Murphy’s still has the best bartenders and the best corned beef hash in Hawaii.
>> One blocked kick? Hey, it happens. Two? Inexcusable.
>> Everything will be fine, unless your expectations were unrealistic. UH is set for a fluffy landing at McCarran Airport today on the ninth Hawaiian Island. The Warriors win big at UNLV and Hawaii won’t face a serious challenge until next month. They will be 3-1 when they arrive at LaTech to open WAC play.
