University Southern California Trojans
Trojans Open For Business
Sept. 7, 1999
HONOLULU - Imagine you're the USC Trojan football team.
In your last game, you failed miserably at the hands of an unheralded TCU team, apparently distracted by all the trappings that go along with a bowl game in of all places . . . El Paso, Tex.
Fast forward to the 1999 season-opener here in the 50th state, a place with infinitely more distractions than the home of the Sun Bowl.
Talk about possible cause for concern.
Or imagine you're Troy Polamalu.
You're a true freshman from Roseburg, Ore., who has never played football in front of a gathering larger than 500.
On Saturday, you're running out upon the Aloha Stadium turf in front of a sellout crowd of 50,000, which includes a handful of family members from the islands.
"It was unimaginable," said Polamalu, who made four tackles, including a sack for a loss of 20 yards. "It was a like a dream come true."
Or imagine you're Faaesea Mailo.
For the past two years you've been in Japan, pounding the pavement on the northern island of Hokkaido, going door-to-door as part of a Mormon mission. On Saturday, you're one of the USC team captains, proudly walking out to the 50-yard line in your hometown. You're soon playing in front of dozens of family and friends, including your mother, Christina, who's celebrating her birthday. You're playing against your little brother, Anipati, who is a freshman linebacker on the other sideline.
Can't fit much more on that plate, even if it does belong to a 6-foot-5, 330-pound offensive guard.
"This whole things was awesome," Mailo said. "It was great to come back and play at Aloha Stadium again. It's hard to put into words."
The start of every football season always has its share of special stories. But, every season doesn't start in paradise. Unless, of course, you're the University of Hawaii, which plays three-quarters of its schedule at home on an island annually visited by more than seven million vacationers from all over the world.
Obviously, it's a solid advantage for the home team. Rainbow Warrior football history is dotted with a list of upsets over foes who got too caught up in by the considerable lures of the Hawaiian Islands. Several nationally ranked teams -- Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Iowa, Wisconsin and West Virginia, just to name a few -- all struggled or flat out lost to Hawaii teams serving as host. Even USC's last national championship team had its own problems in 1978, leading 7-5 midway through the fourth quarter before tacking on a late pair of touchdowns.
One of the more memorable upsets even returned to Aloha Stadium for a few hours on Saturday as the entire replay of UH's 1990 win over BYU was shown on the massive JumboTron scoreboard as the turnstiles opened. That victory over the then-No. 4 ranked Cougars occurred several hours after quarterback Ty Detmer was selected as the Heisman Trophy winner thousands of miles away in New York City.
Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano boldly predicted a similar fate for USC in the form of a seven-point Hawaii victory.
The Trojans, however, were not about to cooperate with any of that. Confidently focused, USC kept its mind on its task.
"I've been telling everyone from the beginning that this is a business trip," wide receiver R. Jay Soward said. "We worked too hard in camp to come here and disappoint ourselves.
"Hey, just because I'm in Hawaii, doesn't mean I can't be on a business trip," Soward added. "I brought my suit and my briefcase, and I was ready to play."
There was no actual sighting of Soward's briefcase, but he surely wasn't darting through the surf on a boogie-board or zipping around Waikiki on a moped either.
Oh, the Trojans players had fun. Make no mistake about that. Their faces weren't unfamiliar ones up and down Kalaukaua Avenue, but they never let the distractions materialize into negative factors.
"The coaches gave us a couple of hours off here and there," said tailback Chad Morton, who had 106 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. "So, we had our fun."
The USC team did find time on Friday to visit the USS Arizona Memorial, final resting place to 1,177 crewmen and the site of the most famous sneak attack in American history. For their part, the Trojans weren't about to become a victim of similar circumstance in a "Night of Infamy." They simply went about their business.
This city isn't exactly where most people come to conduct business. The saggy local economy and Cayetano's declining popularity can attest to that.
The Trojans, however, weren't interested in much else.
Sure, they took part in some of the sun, surf and sand . . . but, just enough to get a taste of the islands, not enough to lose focus on the business at hand.
Give the Trojans lots of credit. It wasn't easy.
The team hotel just happened to be housed at the swank Hyatt Regency. Its 40-story twin towers and extensive shopping and dining options sit smack dab in the middle of Waikiki's best tourist traps. Its front steps are only a short screen-pass away from one of the world's most famous beaches and the Duke Kahanamoku statue.
That's a far cry from the UC Irvine dorm rooms that the Trojans had to endure during 15 days of football camp. And it was all part of the plan to hopefully throw USC off its game.
Bolstered by memories of El Paso, however, they didn't fall into the trap and came out smelling like a fresh pikake lei.
Perhaps the best gauge of USC's preparedness was Mailo, who hails from the north shore town of Waialua.
"Everybody kept coming up to me and asking if I was excited to be back in Hawaii," said Mailo, looking forward to his mother's birthday dinner. "But, I looked at it as a business trip and that business was beating UH."
More importantly, all of Mailo's teammates shared the same commitment, without the added incentive of playing in front of dozens of family and friends. According to Mailo, no one approached him for advice on hot spots or anything like that.
"We stayed low profile," Mailo said. "The team was focused. I was really proud of everybody."
In the end, it all boiled down to a complete dismantling of the Rainbow Warriors. While the 62-7 victory (UH's 19th consecutive defeat) needs to be taken with a grain of that chunky Hawaiian sea salt, the outing as a whole was a considerable test. USC easily cleared that hurdle with a performance that may go on to pay dividends in the near future as well.
"Dealing with all the adversity that came along with all the fun that we had to stay away from will make us a lot stronger team," said Polamalu, a young linebacker seemingly wise beyond his years.
That kind of strength could come in quite handy. With four of USC's first six games on the road and last year's four losses away from the Coliseum still haunting, achieving the right kind of "road" mentality is a top priority.
In game No. 1, the Trojans were certainly in the right frame of mind. In game No. 2 -- although it is at home (on Sept. 18 vs. San Diego State) -- a new mental challenge awaits. R. Jay Soward of all people understands what it is.
"We can't get lackadaisical and think that we are the greatest team in the world," said the Trojan senior, sounding pleasantly like a team leader.
Now, it's time to move on from this oh so enjoyable excursion. Of the 3,000 or so Trojan players, coaches, support personnel, fans and family who flew here, it's hard to imagine any of them telling any horror stories on their way back to LAX.
Or imagine you're yell leaders Troy and Ross.
You're lucky enough to be the only two yell leaders on the trip. Beach by day, clubs by night, all while hanging out with five song girls.
On Saturday, your classmates systematically pound Hawaii right through the artificial turf with 62 whopping points. Your role in all of this? . . . 329 push-ups.
Always remember, business is business . . . no matter what business you're in.
By John Tamanaha
Note: Look for future columns from John in the righthand column of usctrojans.com, right next to the Mike Garrett column. John, a former assistant in the USC Sports Information office, is currently the Director of Communications for the Los Angeles Avengers, L.A.'s new Arena Football team.
