"Hawaiʻi ʻāina haʻaheo."
Hawaiʻi, land of the proud.
Living in a paradise like Hawaiʻi has a multitude of perks and satisfying conveniences, yet contrarily, it also has its disadvantages. A notable drawback is the cost of travel, which unfortunately hinders us from having a professional sports team. Imagine the costs we as citizens of these beautiful islands would more than likely have to pay out of pocket in the form of even more taxes in order to pay for the travel costs of transporting such a team during their away games.
The lifestyle we are all blessed to take part in daily here in Hawaiʻi is so seductive that it draws people from all walks of life: from young college students, to international trasnplants, vacationers, and those who are living their lives post-retirement.
On the timeless, paradigm-shifting Hip-Hop single "I Know You Got Soul," Rakim raps "…Even other states might come right and exact // It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at // Since you came here, you have to show and prove // And do that dance until it don't move." The pride that we as Kanaka Maoli, locals, temporary residents, and retirees represent is unconquerable and unparalleled. In order to fill the void of not having our own professional sports team, we created our first H Pride cap nearly 15 years ago. When toying with ideas for color ways, we ended up looking to legendary former head coach of Hawaiʻi's Warriors baseball team, Les Murakami. During Lesʻ tenure as head coach, the Warriors—then known as the UH Rainbow Warriors—mainly utilized two colors, orange and green.
In 2006, we introduced our first H Pride cap in these exact colors as a way for us to hold our heads high and triumphantly celebrate living in such an astonishingly beautiful, awe-inspiring state, rich with history that other states do not possess.