Congressman Faleomavaega announced today that he plans to travel to New Orleans next Tuesday to support and cheer for the University of Hawaii Warriors when they play against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 74th Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic which is scheduled for January 1, 2008, 7:30 P.M., at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans this year.

The Warriors, with a 12-0 record and the only undefeated team in the NCAA, is nationally ranked No.10 while the Bulldogs with a 10-2 record is ranked No. 4 and considered the favorite in the Sugar Bowl.  The Warriors earned its first Bowl Championship Series (BCS) appearance after they won outright their first Western Athletic Conference title.

“The University of Hawaii’s Warriors this season has set two major milestones in their football program by winning their conference’s title outright and being awarded a spot in the Bowl Championship Series for the first time in school history,” Faleomavaega said. 

“I know this year’s Sugar Bowl will be a very competitive game between the tough-rugged running offense of the Bulldogs and the high-power passing offense for the Warriors.   With the major BCS conferences such as the Pac-10, Big Ten, Big Twelve, ACC, Big East, and SEC, of which the Georgia Bulldogs are a member, they always seem to look down on the smaller and newer conferences of the Mountain West and the Western Athletic Conference in which the Warriors are a member.  As the third ever non-BCS team to play in a BCS bowl game, I am hoping the Warriors will have the same success Boise St. achieved last year after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl in overtime. ”

“According to the UH Warriors’ roster, over a third or 30-percent of the team this year are Samoans or of Samoan ancestry and of which are starters on both of sides of the ball.  Among them are products of our local high school football program, namely Amani Purcell, Jason Laumoli, Keith Ah Soon, and Larry Sauafea who were recruited from American Samoa.  The participation of these players in this bowl game speaks volumes of the caliber and quality of athletes that we produce from such a small place with a population of about 70,000.”

“I am very excited about this game and I am looking forward to the opportunity to being there with families and friends to cheer for our boys.  I believe the Warriors are up for the challenge and are ready and prepared to show the nation that they too can play with the big boys,” Faleomavaega concluded.