Pre-game Warm-ups

Kicking off the 2009 theme weeks is "Aloha Stadium" for this month. As one of the videographers for the JumboTron® video screen, I have the opportunity to get paid to watch football, and sometimes get close to the action (though at times get really close, and once, too close). Of course, Aloha Stadium is not only about football, but soccer, baseball (no longer), a running race, and other sports. The parking lot hosts an open-air swap meet three times a week as well.

Today's photo was taken during pre-game warm-ups for a University of Hawai‘i Warriors football game in which they hosted the Washington State University Cougars. Yes, it was a cold, windy, and rainy night. I was on a perch, assigned to Camera 1 (the game camera), and bundled up with BDU pants, a turtleneck t-shirt, my stadium polo shirt, and a windbreaker. Anytime the temperature drops in the 60°Fs, it's considered cold by Hawai‘i standards. The Cougars must have felt right at home, though they got thumped by the Warriors, 24-10.

With the win, the Warriors qualified for the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl, which most fans thought it was a long-shot, since all of the offensive weapons from the 2007 season graduated (or went pro), and there was a new head coach.