Our Kamehameha Warriors football team won the state championship this past Friday night, defeating 5-time state champs, Kahuku High. Chee-hoo!! The game was fun & exciting (as is the case with all state championship victories.) But as good as it was, I enjoyed the atmosphere even more. (Thus, the pic of the tuba players….)

I went to the game with a bunch of co-workers (my buds, Darrin & Lynne.) We ate Zip Pacs in the back of my pick-up and met a friendly Kahuku supporter in the parking lot. We also bumped into a few of our middle school teachers. As we entered the stadium gate, we were greeted (mobbed) by two of our students who were selling souvenir programs (for their soccer team’s fundraiser.) We finally got in, and the place was packed! It was a sea of blue & white. So awesome! Everyone was decked out in Kamehameha t-shirts, holding homemade signs, and waving towels. There were students, alumni, grandmas & grandpas, and even babies. The cool part about being at a K-12 school is that we are one school and one campus. The cool part about being at Kamehameha is that we are one community. Unlike being at a UH game where you don’t know the people around you, you practically know everyone here. You even know the players and cheerleaders. And it was amazing to see our friend the band director (and biggest cheerleader) wearing eye-black!

But what I appreciated most was the sense of tradition. After a touchdown, the band plays “Imua Kamehameha.” After the first score, I had a flashback of the old Honolulu Stadium days. The band triggered a flood of memories from when I was a little kid. Following the final touchdown, our friend Nate was teaching his little boy the “Imua Kamehameha” song. I was witnessing tradition being passed on….