Yes, it's only a game.

It's only the biggest, heart-pounding, pride-building, excitement-generating, most anticipated game in Hawai'i's football history.

Win or lose, we should all take pride in and congratulate the UH football team for an amazing season. They've surely earned it.

When the Warriors take the field against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, they will be representing those things that die-hard UH fans have wished for, but until now, never dared to expect.

A perfect season. A WAC championship. A No. 10 national ranking and a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

But the Warriors also carry on their shoulders something less tangible but no less real: The collective pride of a state that always seemed too far away, too small, too poor to compete with the biggest players on a national stage.

Not any more.

The Warriors built their success on patience, hard work, a little wisdom and experience, and a powerful sense of 'ohana.

It's a worthy example to learn from and take pride in.

Because in their own way, June Jones & Co. have shown us that goals that once seemed impossible — or at least improbable — are within our reach, if we want them.

And even if you don't like football, that's worth cheering for.

Go Warriors!