Hawaii’s home football games, which end after midnight for most, are boons for gamblers
Hawaii coach Timmy Chang talks with quarterback Brayden Schager during the first half of the team’s NCAA college football game against Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, in Eugene, Ore.
Andy Nelson/AP
LAS VEGAS — Kono recalls the high-wire entertainment value and excitement that coach June Jones and several quarterbacks, especially Timmy Chang, brought to Hawaii football.
Those exotic home games were often aired on a national TV outlet, the last of 50-odd Saturday games that ended past 2 a.m. Sunday on the East Coast.
It alone gave bettors a chance to get even — if it had been a rough 12 hours — or double down, had profits been made and a punter wanted to double his windfall.
The Late-Night Hawaii Bail-Out Special.
Dangerous, with neither option being advisable.
Human nature, however, is undefeated.
Kono is the alias, a tribute to the original ‘‘Hawaii Five-O’’ character, for a 49-year-old native Hawaiian who was weaned on Rainbow Warriors football. He resides on Oahu and witnessed much of that electricity inside Aloha Stadium.
“They called it the Late Night Hawaiian ATM. June Jones and the Run-’n’-Shoot offense. Take the Over and hold onto your underwear. There were totals in the 70s and 80s whose Overs covered, often on the last drive.”
We’ve spotlighted those circus-like affairs, but the story deserves more talk since these games are becoming extinct.
On Saturday, at 5 p.m. in Honolulu — 10 p.m. in Chicago — the final college game of the day kicks off when the Warriors play host to San Diego State. Somehow, the Aztecs are 6-point favorites.
For just the second, and final, time this season, a Hawaii home game will air on national TV, CBS Sports Network. Pay-per-view Spectrum avails them to certain pockets of the country.
“I love the early starts here,” Kono said. “I wake up at 6, roll out of bed and go straight to the TV. Most of it is done by 2 or 3, just in time for me to go to the Hawaii game, if it’s at home.”
IFFY ODDS ON ALOHA II
The NCAA Division I Council met two Wednesdays ago and extinguished a rule that called for average football attendance of 15,000 for programs to maintain FBS status.
Maybe Hawaii was on its mind. Aloha Stadium, built in 1975, was condemned in 2020, forcing the Warriors to their on-campus Clarence TC Ching Athletics Complex.
It barely held 10,000, but upgrades have boosted its capacity to 17,000 this season. Kono calls it ChingField. Nineteen food trucks serve fans, and he favors Island Sausage. He laments no tailgating area.
The longtime holder of Aloha Stadium season tickets has cherished memories.
“That stadium could rock. I’ve gone to NFL games at Levi’s [49ers] and Arrowhead [Chiefs] stadiums, and on two or three specific plays Aloha Stadium was louder than them.
“ChingField is at the end of Moana Valley, notorious for rain. I have really good rain gear and would advise anybody going to a game, regardless of weather, to always bring it.”
A new Aloha Stadium has been discussed, but toss in island time with incomparable 50th-state bureaucracy and Kono believes the “best guess” is 2028-29, “but most of us expect 2032.”
Recruiting and depth, he added, will fix themselves.
A new yard, he admitted, is more worrisome.
“I’m not sure how they fix the stadium situation. It’s really bad. We need a ‘Daddy’ Warbucks to show up, buy the stadium land and build it himself, then sell it back to the state, at cost.
“The state leadership can’t get out of its own way.”
HEART OF HAWAII
Jones guided Hawaii to six bowl games and won four, all triumphs on Oahu. He left for riches after the 10th-ranked Rainbow Warriors (12-0) lost to No. 4 Georgia in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.
In ’04 alone, with Chang at the reins, Hawaii lost 41-29 at Rice, beat Tulsa (44-16), Nevada (48-26) and San Jose State (46-28) at home, lost at UTEP (51-20), Boise State (69-3) and Fresno State (70-14).
In his final four home games, Chang threw for 1,602 yards and 18 touchdowns in victories over Idaho (52-21), Northwestern (49-41), Michigan State (41-38) and UAB (59-40). His 17,072 passing yards are second on the all-time list.
As Hawaii’s coach, Chang, who turned 42 on Monday, is 5-14. He is toying with run-and-shoot schemes.
“Timmy Chang has the emotions,” Kono said. “He’s got the heart of Hawaii. Next year’s recruiting class is going to be a beast; he’s raiding Bishop Gorman [in Las Vegas]. Right now, he’s spread too thin. That’s the general feeling.”
LAST CALL
Both squads are 2-4, but the Aztecs own a four-game losing streak. The Rainbow Warriors have won their last two home games.
Kono never had issues getting any size bet down on any sporting event, with his efficient island options. Today, however, he doesn’t wager as heavily or as frequently.
An opening total of 57.5 has been shaved to 53.5, maybe reflecting that their past four games have finished Under.
A typically stout SDSU defense is horrible, allowing 8.6 yards per pass, its offense horrendous. Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager should have a field day throwing to Steven McBride and Pofele Ashlock, both top-40 national receivers.
Kono’s interest is piqued. He said he’s betting Hawaii. Unlike the many who will tune in on TV, until the wee hours in the Midwest and East, he’ll be among the fortunate few watching the day’s very last game in person.