"Haka" just pregame taunting?
You be the judge...
Here is “haka”. Does it imply class?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj4rAnKLqB0&mode=related&search=
Look at the 0:26 mark of this video. Does it appear to be good sportsmanship?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRtMDSma5pM&mode=related&search=
Do the Hawaii players face in one direction to do their "haka" or do they rotate facing the opposing players to taunt them as they move down the sidelines? Is that a “throat slash” gesture at the 1:06 mark?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrQjAoLltMo&mode=related&search=
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
To be perfectly honest, it looks like a cultural "warrior" deal to me. It is definitely a unique tradition. I don't mind they do it, just as long as they don't mind we rub it in their faces in it after we wipe the field with them.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
I see it just like any other pregame ritual you do AT HOME. Like the FSU mascot riding out and putting the spear in the middle of the field. You don't do that crap on someone elses field. If you just have to do it to get fired up, do it in the locker room. Suppose we take Spirit of 88 on the road, I bet that would be treated with a lot of respect, right.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
Hmmm. That's interesting. Definitely an islander style warrior dance as boxerdog pointed out. I have to be perfectly honest though. The way they pull it off on the field probably would make the original choreographers cringe in shame. I'm glad we don't have a tradition like that one.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
I don't mind the Haka...I do mind tearing up locker rooms and flipping off fans.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
It looks like the Hawaiian culture has not advanced out of the stone age. This footage only confirms what I have heard from people who grew up on the islands.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
Taunting our Bulldawgs as they turn and face them running by. Plain and simple. Throat slashing is evident at 1:06 as stated. IMHO, PURE TAUNTING BIG TIME. That said, I think it is pretty cool. Just wish they would pick a different time to perform this act.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrQjAoLltMo&NR=1
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
The Haka is a traditional call to battle. It is a challenge to your opponent.
The Haka that is performed is almost identical to that performed by the All Blacks rugby team of Fiji. Hawaii had to change it slightly to avoid possible copyright issues. It is traditional. It is polynesian. Since we are the University of Hawaii, we have polynesian traditions.
Life would be pretty boring if we all wore the same polyester shirts and black horned rim glasses. Don't you think? Welcome to the WAC, the only NCAA conference with a Hawaiian football team.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SundayJam
The Haka is a traditional call to battle. It is a challenge to your opponent.
The Haka that is performed is almost identical to that performed by the All Blacks rugby team of Fiji. Hawaii had to change it slightly to avoid possible copyright issues. It is traditional. It is polynesian. Since we are the University of Hawaii, we have polynesian traditions.
Life would be pretty boring if we all wore the same polyester shirts and black horned rim glasses. Don't you think? Welcome to the WAC, the only NCAA conference with a Hawaiian football team.
You can do it in less provoking ways Sunday. If you are really not taunting why don't you face your fans and do it on your end of the field. My old high school does it in a very non threatening way and we don't seem to get the complaints you guys do. We also don't do the throat slashing gesture you do. When I went to school about 20% of our football team had Tongan heritage, now about 40% are Tongan. They started doing it about 5 years ago and most visiting teams appreciate it.
Then again we don't stomp on the other teams logo at midfield, flip off their fans with great frequency ,and spit on their monuments so that might explain why we are greeted more warmly. :icon_wink: When you are a winner you don't need to do things like that. You can just point at the scoreboard. The Warriors are winners, now they just need to act like it.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
Maybe I am missing something since so many feel it is insulting, but the Haka does not bother me at all. It is a polynesian thing and fits with the Hawaii team IMO. I find it entertaining, unique and really cool. I thought you were supposed to try and intimidate the other team. With that said, I do not think thuggery in football should be tolerated. It seems that some of the other things the Hawaii team does fall into this category. For me, though, the Haka is not part of that.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
If you watch the real deal performed by the All Blacks it would make you pee your pants. The two rugby teams stand facing each other in the middle of the field, and it is INTENSE.
I believe the UH version of this ritual was initiated by Tala Esera who is now with the Miami Dolphins. Quite a bit of research went into it, and the authentic Haka is performed facing the opponent. What you interpret as a throat slash actually has something to do with spirit or power not throat slashing.
The Haka is not really about taunting, but about gathering energy before a contest. In truth it takes a lot of energy, so it might be to your advantage to enjoy the free expenditure of energy by our athletes.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
Those guys look like they're constipated and trying real hard to take a dump. I find them humorous rather than hostile. Most teams will use that against them. I don't think a guy looking like he is trying to take a dump would put any fear in me.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
I pointed this out in another thread, but in one of the interviews on the June Jones show when this Haka was reported on, one of the players said (and I paraphrase), it's their way of showing the other team that "they will defend their field". I'm sorry, but your field is in Hawaii. If that is one of the reasons for this dance, then it has no place on someone else's field because it's not yours to defend.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dirtydawg
I pointed this out in another thread, but in one of the interviews on the June Jones show when this Haka was reported on, one of the players said (and I paraphrase), it's their way of showing the other team that "they will defend their field". I'm sorry, but your field is in Hawaii. If that is one of the reasons for this dance, then it has no place on someone else's field because it's not yours to defend.
That player was wrong. That misinformed quote sounds like youthful exuberance to me.
The Haka is a way of collecting the energy of the group and group's ancestors and the god of war. Thugerry and the defense of one's field have nothing to do with it. It was a grass roots decision by some of the team's players to incorporate more of the Polynesian culture into our program. Besides, its not the La Tech fan's reaction that the players should worry about, but the reaction of the ancestors and the god of war. I can't think of a better place in sports to keep this tradition alive than at the University of Hawaii.
Re: "Haka" just pregame taunting?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SundayJam
That player was wrong. That misinformed quote sounds like youthful exuberance to me.
The Haka is a way of collecting the energy of the group and group's ancestors and the god of war. Thugerry and the defense of one's field have nothing to do with it. It was a grass roots decision by some of the team's players to incorporate more of the Polynesian culture into our program. Besides, its not the La Tech fan's reaction that the players should worry about, but the reaction of the ancestors and the god of war. I can't think of a better place in sports to keep this tradition alive than at the University of Hawaii.
No way should anybody ever compare any sport to war. War was when those dirty coward Japs bombed Pearl Harbor and killed thousands of people.