NEW ORLEANS — From the great Sugar Bowl-inspired intermingling of Southern, Asian and Pacific cultures taking place in New Orleans, entrepreneur Lenny Motwani has emerged with a new favorite word.

"Umagai?" Motwani ventured, still trying to wrap his tongue around the proper pronunciation. "Umayaga?"

And while it may take Motwani a while to get the hang of saying "omiyage" — the Hawai'i-adopted Japanese custom of bringing gifts home from one's travels — he has no problem appreciating what the practice has meant for his chain of souvenir shops.

"People from Hawai'i are incredibly generous," he said. "It's amazing. They're buying everything in the store. A lady from Hawai'i just came in and bought 20 (Sugar Bowl) magnets. It's something that as a business owner I love."

Motwani owns about 20 shops in New Orleans — he can be seen dashing from one to another all night long — and says Hawai'i shoppers have distinguished themselves as shoppers in a class all their own. The previous night, a UH fan walked in and bought 10 Warrior polo shirts at $45 apiece for friends and family back home.

Like scores of shops throughout New Orleans, Motwani's Dixie Factory Outlet on the corner of Canal and Bourbon has been overrun by Hawai'i fans looking for anything bearing the UH and Sugar Bowl logos, from trash-talking T-shirts ("Beat Georgia ... and the UGAly mutt they brought with 'em") to miniature footballs and green feather boas.

"And everyone, every customer from Hawai'i, is buying the beads," Motwani said.

Indeed, hidden under Warrior rain jackets or proudly displayed across "WAC Champions" T-shirts are the ubiquitous green-and-white Mardi Gras beads bearing the distinctive Warrior "H" as a medallion. Variations of the beads sell for anywhere from $6 to $15.

"The Hawai'i stuff has been going fast," said Craig Blair, a manager at the Sugar Bowl Headquarters store in the Riverfront Marketplace. "We can't keep it on the shelves. Anything white or green is going fast."

WARRIOR WARE

The items aren't exorbitantly priced, but they aren't cheap, either. T-shirts, emblazoned with messages like "Takin' Paradise to the Big Easy," run from $14.95 to more than $25. Sweatshirts and hoodies are priced in the $45 to $60 range. Souvenir footballs are $15 for miniatures and $40 for full-sized. Beads, magnets, lanyards, pins and boas and other trinkets are priced from $1.50 to $20. A Sugar Bowl program sells for about $10.

Until yesterday, what many shops were lacking were white UH T-shirts, thanks to mixed messages from the UH athletic department about what color fans were encouraged to wear to the game.

"The first thing we heard was that Hawai'i was going to wear green to the game, so we ordered green," Motwani said. "Then all of a sudden, we found out it was white, so we had to hurry up and call our vendors and order white."

By the time the shirts arrived last night, Motwani had more than a dozen Hawai'i fans on his waiting list.

While there are plenty of Georgia fans already in town — with thousands more expected to drive in over the weekend —store owners and clerks said Bulldog faithful haven't been as eager to lay down the plastic for Georgia logo items.

Just after Christmas, most window displays featured an even split of Hawai'i and Georgia merchandise. With the arrival of thousands more UH fans late Friday and yesterday morning, many of those same windows have now been made over in Warrior green — a near match for the dark green paint that adorns much of the French Quarter.

"Hawai'i has been selling way better than Georgia," said Tabatha Arendt, a clerk at another Sugar Bowl Headquarters on Canal Street. "It's not even close."

THAT SUGAR SHAKA

To be sure, businesses throughout New Orleans wholeheartedly approve of the UH fans' travel priorities.

"Eat, shop, drink and gamble," proclaimed Rae Fabrao, a softball standout at Pacific and former Wai'anae High girls' basketball coach.

Fabrao yesterday dropped $386 at Sugar Bowl Headquarters for beads, hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, souvenir footballs and lanyards for family, friends and co-workers who couldn't make the trip.

"I don't think (the shop owners) realized how much UH fans would support their team," Fabrao said.

Friend Leila Kubayama of 'Ele'ele, Kaua'i, spent nearly $200 for her omiyage gifts.

"And we're just starting," she said, laughing. "This was only our first stop."

Linda Ginoza, a curriculum coordinator at Wahiawa Middle School, bought beads for her office mates and a shirt for the neighbor who's picking up her mail while she's away. She also bought shirts for her mother and brother (both of whom are attending the game with her) and a few goodies (gasp!) for herself.

She found the shopping in New Orleans a good deal less hectic than in Honolulu.

"Going down to the UH bookstore was crazy," Ginoza said. "It'll all end up with UH, so that's OK."

Tuesday's bowl game will be the first UH game Ginoza has attended in two years.

"We go to my cousin's (Kevin Ginoza's) house for New Year's Eve," she said. "This year, I asked him 'Is New Year's Eve at your house or New Orleans?' He said, 'New Orleans.' "

JAZZED AND PIZZAZZED

Byron Cadiz and Jayson Watts of Honolulu also were finding their shopping legs yesterday afternoon.

Cadiz left the Riverwalk Marketplace with $400 worth of hats, beads, programs, lanyards and shirts for family and friends at home.

"This is for all the people at home who were too scared to come over here," Cadiz said.

Watts paced himself, spending "just" $200 for gifts for his girlfriend, grandfather, uncle and co-workers.

"We're season ticket holders," Watts said. "And we've got to see the season all the way to the end."

The UH players have gotten into the act. Ahmet and Serkan Ozcan of the You Name It customized sign store have been spending the week printing special-order license plates and signs for visiting Warriors.

UH slotback Ryan Grice-Mullins yesterday cruised the Marriott lobby in a freshly purchased red baseball cap emblazoned with the Warrior "H"; he bought the same cap in gray, black and navy.

"I've got to show a little style," he said, laughing. "Y'know, a little pizzazz."

Offensive lineman Hercules Satele made sure he got an ample supply of UH beads and shirts to bring back for family and friends.

"There's a lot more Sugar Bowl stuff here (than in Hawai'i)," Satele said. "I'll be doing some shopping, bringing home some beads."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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