More notes on my impressions as an attendee of the Frozen Four later, but
simply skimming message headers and quick reads of many of them prompted an
immediate response.
Wanna know why the games are played at NOON? Wanna know why ESPN -- and
CNN, and any other mass-market-media-outlet don't seem to care that much?
Why USA TODAY didn't even run a single article on Thursday, the day of the
semifinals?
I'll point at one thing - attendance. Sure, the NC$$ will brag for years
and years (as will Wisconsonites) that this year's Championship was the
second largest crowd in frozen four history (17,507, I think) -- but I'd be
amazed if there were actually more than 12,000-13,000 in the stands. In the
semis (17,000-plus), we had TWO ENTIRE ROWS empty right behind us. Mind you
these were not bad seats either. For both games, these seats went
unoccupied. In the final, our crew spread out over three different rows --
yet we only had 18 of those 40 seats ticketed.
I talked to two people in a bar after the game and was told they got their
tickets for FREE. In an unrelated incident, a hotel doorman accrued a stack
of 40+ tickets for the final from many disgusted Michigan fans who wouldn't
stick around. (much, much more on that later)
I'll bet at *all* the basketball games this weekend -- including Women's --
you wouldn't be able to find a seat without an ass glued to it.
Think of it this way -- ESPN shows up to cover the game, yet can't point
the camera towards the crowd for a real good crowd shot for fear of showing
all of the empty seats -- or quiet fans.
And for those of you that whined about ESPN's coverage, and what was shown
and wasn't shown on SportsCenter -- those of you that all stayed at home...
you're among the most diehard of college hockey fans, yet you didn't make
the trip. Stop whining. Consider yourself lucky that ESPN and ESPN2 even
show the games to begin with!
______________________________________________
Jason Kekoa Greene
[log in to unmask]
Animator, Multimedia Designer, & P.B.
Leopard Communications: http://www.leopard.com
Boulder, Colorado
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