Ted Weiler writes:
 
>                                                          I think the new
>neutral site playoff format is really going to hurt the students the most.
>I think the neutral site final four is a good idea, but the neutral site
>playoffs just suck. By removing the game(s) from the higher seeds arena it
>penalizes the school and its students for having its teams do well. For example
>last year when Wisconson was here for the playoffs, those fans that travelle
>d from Wisconson with their team helped the revenue of the town. They had to
>pay for hotels, food, gas, and other things. By removing the playoffs it hurts
>the town. It hurts the students because just when things are really getting
>exciting and the reward for all their support during the season comes near
>the NCAA decides to take away that reward and move it to a neutral site making
>the students pay even more if they want to go see it and many of them cannot
>afford such a trip.
 
	Neutral sites do not penalize the higher seed.  Consider the
	NCAA basketball tourney.  The games are not played at the
	higher seeds home court.  In NCAA hockey the tradition has
	been to play some games at the home teams' arena but this is
	a privilege not a right.
 
	The goal of the playoffs is not to give business to hotels at
	the site of the higher ranked team.  Why do you think this
	should be of any concern to the NCAA?  Yes, some Wisconsin
	fans journeyed to the games at Clarkson last year.  Don't you
	think their journey might have been more enjoyable if it were
	held in a city with an airport :-).  Wouldn't more fans be
	able to attend if the games were held in a central location?
 
	Why do you think students are so special?  Here at Wisconsin
	much of the support for the Badgers comes from the citizens
	of Madison and around the state.  Who pays for the arenas where
	these teams play?  The students---hah!  I imagine the new
	Clarkson arena is due in large part to the $$$ of the alumni
	and they don't live there any more.  I think students should
	be required to travel to neutral sites.  That's why God invented
	road trips.
Enter nostalgia mode:
	VW microvan filled with 15 crazy fans.  Rent 2 motel rooms.
	Empty bottles of wine, a strange smell in the air, the game,
	what game , oh yeah I remember now ...
Exit nostalgia mode
	So you see the neutral site will allow you to expand your
	horizons.  The NCAA is doing you a favor :-).
 
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@%@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@:{)@@@
mark grassl				[log in to unmask]
Go Badgers!  Good luck Twinkies!
"Facts are stupid things."  --- Ronnie Raygun
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@%@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@:{)@@@@@@@