Notre Dame football player Eric Olsen wears his heart under his sleeve.

On the mural that is his right shoulder, there is a tattoo of a firefighter with angels on his shoulder.

It is a tribute to his father, Andy, a New York City firefighter, and many of Andy's friends who were at Ground Zero the day terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

"My father survived, thank God, but he was in the mix at Ground Zero," said Olsen, who was in eighth grade at the time. "He went through all of that. It was a trying time for me personally and my family."

Olsen, whose family lives on Staten Island, said his father "got into lower Manhattan immediately after the second tower fell. He was lucky to not be inside or anything. But he lost a lot of good friends, a lot of people he worked with and knew really well. That was a really tough time for him."

Olsen said that his father did not return home for 30 hours.

"We didn't know if he made it inside when the towers fell or not," Olsen said. "We were in a panic."

Even worse, Olsen said, "my mother's an emergency-room nurse. She was called in, also. I was with my grandma. Me and my little brother had no idea what was going on. We didn't know who was going to come home, or what was going to happen."

Olsen, a senior offensive lineman for the Fighting Irish, has decided to use his arm as a tribute to the important things in his life.

He also has tattoos of his family crest, the American flag and the Fighting Irish leprechaun.

Olsen said he wanted to honor the firefighters "who gave their lives, the guys who were down there giving everything they had, endless hours. Those guys are definitely heroes. I'm personally thankful for all of the things they've done.

"I'm thankful for my dad being fortunate enough to survive. I have to remember the guys who didn't. I have to remember they paid the ultimate price for strangers, to save people."

SLEEP DEPRIVED

For the Fighting Irish, it was easier to qualify for the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl than to actually get to Hawai'i.

Notre Dame was scheduled to arrive at 10 p.m. Friday.

But because of weather-related delays in South Bend, Ind., and a layover to refuel in Los Angeles, the Fighting Irish did not arrive in town until 1 a.m. yesterday.

They checked into their hotel rooms at about 2 a.m., and their luggage did not arrive until 3.

"We watched a lot of movies on the plane," Olsen said. "I listened to my iPod, and tried to sleep. I didn't sleep well."

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen said: "It was a long, long flight. And we had to be up at 6:45 in the morning. I got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep."

The Fighting Irish traveled on a charter flight. The travel party totaled more than 200, including 105 players.

The 747 jet, configured in a 3-4-3-section alignment, allowed for an empty seat between players.

EARLY CHRISTMAS

After a shocking opener, the swag has regained its swagger.

Teams participating in NCAA bowls are allowed to receive gifts valued at up to $300 from their schools and $500 from the bowl.

The Warriors will receive a bowl ring from UH.

But the first of their gifts from the bowl — a blue beach chair — drew shrugs from those playing in eBay fantasy leagues.

But yesterday, the Warriors received Oakley sunglasses, a visor, a custom backpack and ... a silk tie.

Still to come are an Aloha shirt and iKick 500 dock for an iPod or iPhone (retail value: $349.99).

While the swag bag drew a so-so rating from ESPN — "Aloha Means Goodbye" was the headline of an Internet story that tsk-tsk'd Notre Dame with "lose four out of your last five games and all this can be yours!" — the Warriors expressed polite gratitude.

"I have no complaints," offensive lineman Austin Hansen said. "The backpack looks like it's made with extreme high quality and fine workmanship."

As for the tie, Hansen said: "I wear a tie every time I get dressed up or go to church with my family. The tie looks nice."

Wideout Jett Jasper said he is appreciative of the sunglasses.

"My car was just broken into," Jasper said. "They took my glasses. So I got some new glasses. It worked out. It's the perfect Christmas present."

Visit Tsai's blog at http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.