By: Rick Blangiardi
Bravo to new University of Hawaii Athletic Director
Ben Jay for taking head on the issue nicknames of our intercollegiate sports
teams more uniform.
For years, we've had this whole situation all wrong
because of our lack of consistency. Our teams have been called Rainbows,
Rainbow Warriors, Warriors or Rainbow Wahine.
Four of the seven men's teams are Warriors and the
other three - swimming, diving and basketball - are Rainbow Warriors.
Starting July 1, all the men's teams will be Warriors
and all women's teams will be Rainbow Wahine.
Branding of sports teams is important, beyond the
dollars involved, and ever since the June Jones era, it's been all over the
place. The logos, the colors and team
names were changed with seeming disregard to the history and traditions of the
University of Hawaii.
I applaud the idea of returning to the basic green
and white colors of the past but tradition is tradition, so I respectfully
disagree with the removal of the name "Rainbows" from the men's
nicknames. I would have selected Rainbow Warriors for the men and Rainbow
Wahine for the women.
The Rainbow name is very powerful and spiritual in
Hawaii. Maybe I am just a nostalgic guy but keeping "Rainbows" in all
names is the perfect choice.
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