BCS or Bust?

A year ago, I would have been laughed at for suggesting that any of the following were possible:

· The University of Hawaii will play in a BCS bowl game

· Colt Brennan will win the Heisman Trophy Finalist

· Jessica Biel will take a brief hiatus from acting to bear my child

But that was before Hawaii went 11-3. Before they eviscerated Arizona State in the Hawaii Bowl. Before Colt Brennan threw for 5549 yards, completed over 70% of his passes and shattered the NCAA record for touchdowns in a season by throwing 58. Before Jessica went public with the details about our love affair. (Ok, I’m still waiting for that last one, but I’m sure she’ll announce it any day now…BTW, my wife hasn’t stopped laughing since she read that.)

Now, stories about the University of Hawaii’s quest for a BCS bowl berth and Colt’s Heisman campaign fill the pages of the Honolulu Advertiser and Star-Bulletin. Throngs of fans calling to sound off about the latest Warrior victory and Colt Brennan’s latest touchdown pass dominate the airwaves of local talk radio. The traffic on game days blocks the freeways in every direction and every bar with a television is packed with the green, black and white clad members of Warrior nation.

Warrior hype has grown to such epic proportions that even the national media has jumped on the Warrior bandwagon. The University of Hawaii is currently ranked 17th and 19th respectively in the USA Today Coaches Poll and AP Top 25; Colt Brennan is listed on every major list of Heisman candidates; Sportscenter shows UH highlights on a weekly basis; The New York Times wrote a full page feature article on Brennan’s improbable rise to glory; ESPN just put Colt Brennan on the cover of ESPN the Magazine; Most importantly, EA Sports finally showed UH some love and created the best University of Hawaii video game football team of all time in NCAA Football 2008! (Took them long enough. I’ve been playing as Timmy Chang and Chad Owens in NCAA 2005 for the past four years…)

Truth be told, the University of Hawaii football team has never had more exposure the it does right now. In fact, the team will have more hype by the time you finish reading this sentence then it did before you started. More newspaper articles. More video highlights. More radio airtime. More people talking, walking, eating and breathing University of Hawaii football then ever before.

Which brings us to a startling point about Warrior football: The team has never had more pressure then it does right now. Previously, success was defined as going to a bowl game. This season, many people consider anything less then an undefeated season and a trip to a BCS bowl game a failure. Not just disappointing, but a complete and utter failure.

I’m here to tell you, right here and right now, that is ridiculous.

First and foremost, this will be the most exciting season in the history of the program, regardless of the outcome. Between an offense that scores at will, a revitalized defense, three potential NFL caliber receivers, Colt’s Heisman campaign and the staggering visibility in the national media there are more compelling reasons to watch Warrior football now then ever before. Previously, a casual fan might watch the Boise and Fresno State games and read about the other games in the paper. Now, even an otherwise uninteresting matchup against Northern Colorado is an opportunity to watch Colt Brennan pass for 400 yards…IN A HALF! No matter how many games this team wins or losses, people will be talking about this season for years to come.

More importantly, this team has made a permanent mark on both the football program and the community. June Jones has created an excitement around UH Football that will not graduate with Colt Brennan. The team started attracting recruits who can run the 40 in under four and a half seconds and have nicknames like “Action”. (For those of you unfamiliar with the history of UH football, we used to attract recruits best described as “overachievers” with nicknames like “Pencil Neck”.) These players used to go to BCS conference schools. Now, they’re leaving BCS schools to come to the University of Hawaii. This past year, only six schools in the entire country had more players drafted is a sign of the times.

So watch with pride while the offense is clicking, the crowds are increasing, the excitement is building and the march towards history continues. But, even if, god forbid, Colt Brennan has an off game, or the defense collapses and the team loses a game this season, don’t panic and don’t lose site of the real milestone: Not that the Warriors might play in a BCS game this year, but that they can. The Warriors broke the glass ceiling of the BCS and now the gloves are off. No matter what happens this year, Warriormania is here to stay.

From now on, at the start of every season you’ll be able to say:

· The University of Hawaii has a chance to play in a BCS bowl game

· [Insert name of starting QB] has a chance to win the Heisman Trophy

· You heard all about it from Jessica Biel’s baby Daddy

Hey, don’t laugh. Just talk to me in a year.