Mother-daughter, Husky-Warrior disagreement

Trudy Gage was born in Hawaii, but she’s all purple and gold today at Aloha Stadium.

“My middle name is Kai. Dad was military and I lived in the islands my first four years” said Gage, who ended up in Seattle and is now a UW alum and die-hard Washington Huskies fan. “My brother, Guy Kittrell, he never left and he lives on Maui.”

Gage is one of the thousands of UW fans helping to fill the parking lot for the season-opener against the host Rainbow Warriors. Projections for attendance at today’s game were in the low thirty thousands, but there could be a strong walk-up crowd including local Washington fans.

But, of course, most of the fans will be cheering for Hawaii. That includes Gage’s daughter, Kylee Johnson. Johnson is a senior at Manoa majoring in international business.

When asked about a friendly wager, Gage responded, “That’s a good idea. How about she pays the rest of her tuition if Washington wins?”

Gage said Johnson grew up a Huskies fan, but “she’s definitely a Rainbow Warrior now.”

Gage and other family members have been to Aloha Stadium for UH games in the past on vacations.

“We’re staying until next Friday, same with my sister and her husband,” she said. “Of course this is a great opportunity. In previous games we put on our UH stuff. But this time it’s the purple and gold for sure.”