The University of Hawaii football team may not have had a great season in 2012, ending their year with a 3-9 in their first season in the Mountain West Conference, but they still have one of the more unique and fantastic pregame rituals in college football.
Suited up in their specially designed Wounded Warrior uniforms, Hawaii football players performed their pregame Haka in the locker room prior to taking the field against UNLV on November 24. Hawaii's athletic department just released this video yesterday on their YouTube. We have seen Hawaii and their Haka before, and some other programs have adopted a pregame haka as well in recent years, but to see the Warriors do it in their patriotic uniforms is still a pretty cool sight.
What is the haka?
According to the all-knowing and resourceful Wikipedia…
The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance from New Zealand. There are thousands of Haka that are performed by various tribes and cultural groups throughout New Zealand. The best known Haka of them all is called "Ka Mate". It has been performed by countless New Zealand teams both locally and internationally. It is normally performed immediately prior to the event that is to take place: e.g. sports matches, conferences, VIP functions, hui etc.
Also according to Wikipedia, the haka shown in the above video is a dance created by the university, drawing more on traditional Hawaiian language. This is just one of the things about college football you cannot get in the NFL. A college program keeping in tune with the history surrounding their program like this is just awesome on so many levels.
Kevin McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com and host of the No 2-Minute Warning podcast.
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