I absolutely loathe defending the NC$$, however, I do understand that
conferences and organizations whore themselves out to corporate sponsorship.
This practice appears at many universities ("boosters") and a great deal of
professional entertainment areas - including the theater, opera and
symphony.
 
Should Pizza Hut, GMC, etc... get all the best seats to the NC$$
tournaments?  No.  However, until we form our own Sponsor group we will
suffer.  Hockey fans of North America...Unite! *L*
 
'til then. Carpe Diem.
 
Make it a Great Day.
 
--John.
 
                -----Original Message-----
                From:   Cheryl A. Morris [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
                Sent:   Tuesday, February 08, 2000 11:06 PM
                To:     [log in to unmask]
                Subject:        Re: 16 team tournament
 
                First of all, thanks to Erik for correctly identifying me as
a male.
 
                On Tue, 8 Feb 2000, Erik Biever wrote:
 
                > Sample travel distances and times
                > (information drawn from www.mapquest.com):
                > Nope, I just can't figure it out.
 
                OK, you win the geography prize. :-)  But please explain to
me why the
                attendance at the Joe Louis Arena has been so dismal it has
virtually
                dropped out of the running.  The Detroit area probably is
the #1 market in
                America for hockey, and boasts a plethora of D1 and D3
programs.  And
                other areas which are more centrally located to the
programs, like
                Chicago, are also apparently DOA.  I am not discounting
anything that Erik
                and the Western H-L people ( and like H-L in general,
steadily dwindling)
                say.  Campus arenas apparently are the only way you can
guarantee
                satisfactory attendance at the West Regionals.  I just don't
understand
                why any neutral site venue, other than Grand Rapids, can't
generate
                satisfactory attendance, especially when the local area has
sufficient
                number of fans to support it.
 
                And also, I believe the Pepsi Arena's capacity is about
14,200, but I'll
                check on it.  The only time it has sold out for a sporting
event was the
                Sub-Regionals B-ball tournament in 1996.
 
                Doesn't anyone think it's a travesty that the NC$$ grabs all
the seats at
                center ice for the big shots?  It's become a slap in the
face for all the
                fans like us out there who have supported the Tournament all
through
                the years and built it into the success it has become.  It's
particularly
                galling to go to one of those big arenas (Bradley 1997)
which "sold out"
                in May of the previous year and see all those empty seats.
I couldn't
                even sell an extra seat (at face value) for the championship
game.
                (Soapbox off)
                There, I feel much better now.
 
****************************************************************************
                Brian Morris                       RPI Engineers--A February
to Remember?
                [log in to unmask]
 
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