Barnaby Times: Special Edition

One of my favorite writers, Hunter S. Thompson, once famously described the feeling in San Francisco in the mid-sixties as "a very special time and place to be a part of….. no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant.…". Thompson went on further to say "We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave....". I think this particular excerpt from his book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" reflects the feeling that the people of Hawaii had during this special season that was and is absolutely beyond mere words or actions. The incredible achievements of these players will forever be a part of our lives and much like a family photo album we will some day thumb through the memories with great fondness. You can one day tell your children of the failed two-point conversion at Joe Aillet stadium against Louisiana Tech that created a ripple in the water that would eventually become that beautiful wave. You can show your family visiting from the mainland the football signed by Colt Brennan and you can tell them the story of how you stood in the line for hours behind hundreds and hundreds of fans. The kids behind you crying to go home and the annoying guy trying to hurry everything along and as they chuckle at you for such "devotion" you can think to yourself : they'll never understand. While at a backyard barbecue with your friends you can recall the night that the Warriors won the Western Athletic Conference title by beating a Boise State team that had a reputation for continually breaking our hearts. After which you realize you've burnt the hot dogs on the grill from going on about that game. Every time your voice gets a little hoarse you think back to December 1 st when you screamed louder than you thought your lungs could handle while our boys were overcoming an improbable 21-point deficit to defeat the Washington Huskies and chisel into stone a perfect 2007 season and later that night when you drunk dialed all your fellow fans to use what little voice had left to shout "Cheeeehooo". You can continue reminiscing of the following day during the BCS announcement at the Stan Sheriff Center when your voice suddenly returned to join the faithful with their chants of "BCS! BCS! BCS!" in perfect pitch and the elated feeling you got when Chris Rose said our name and then Allstate Sugar Bowl. When you see a tourist in Waikiki wearing a lei, you'll get flashes of Chase Daniel and Colt Brennan's awkward on air meeting during the Heisman presentation. And, although, it pains us to recall that day, let's not forget after that tough loss to the Georgia Bulldogs when our devoted fans (that made the long journey to the Superdome) gave our Warriors a standing ovation which was, certainly, what we locals refer to as a "Chicken Skin" moment. A season like this may never come again and we will never duplicate the sights, sounds, and emotions that accompany it but, we will never forget them and always cherish our personal experiences.
Hunter concluded his now legendary speech by saying "…. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." With this same idea we can look down towards Aloha Stadium and see a similar sight where the wave broke and rolled back to the ocean. Provided, of course, you have the right kind of eyes.
On behalf of the leaheyradio.com family I would like to say thank you to everyone who made this season possible. Although , you may not be Sugar Bowl champions you will always be our champions.

Barnaby "The Proud Warrior Fan" Pedroia