I think what some people may be missing in the whole Lowell-goes-West issue is
the way that precedent has been ignored this year. The well-established
precedent has been that the lowest rated teams from each region (#5 and #6)
crossed over to the other region. Slight adjustments were made when there were
7 from one region and 5 from the other, but everything seemed to be handled in
a consistent fashion. An amendment to all this was instituted in 1994 when the
host team was allowed to stay home. (This new amendment sent UMass-Lowell out
West.) Things followed consistently from these precedents last year.
At NO time was avoiding conference matchups a consideration. Take a look at
last year. In THREE OUT OF FOUR of the brackets there was a potential second
round same-conference matchup (Minnesota - CC, Michigan St - Michigan, and
UNH - Maine). As it turned out, only the Minnesota-CC matchup materialized,
but at no time was this an issue. And we got a same-conference final WITHOUT
any gerrymandering.
At exactly what point did this move from being a non-issue to the NUMBER TWO
factor in deciding the brackets? And why? In what year has conference
matchups been a big problem? If all this was dictated to the committee by
the NC$$ at large then I apologize to Bob DeGreggorio for my crude remarks,
but I remain skeptical. (And I don't accept hoop analogies; selection for the
two sports have always been handled differently.)
I fail to see how avoiding conference matchups should be considered more
important than allowing a high seed to stay at home. It certainly
wasn't last year. Lake State may not be upset at being sent
East; they get a huge on-ice advantage as compensation to
their fans: they've been put in what many (myself included) would term the
easiest bracket of the four. Lowell gets no similar "compensation" but even
if they were, I believe they'd turn it down. Laker fans have had a multitude
of local regionals to attend. Lowell has had NONE. Having a local NC$$
appearance for your team is the raw red meat you can build a program on. And
Lowell had every reason to believe it had earned that this year.
Well established programs don't have to worry about feeding the fan base. It
has already become self-perpetuating. Emerging programs like Lowell do have
to work at the fan base. Especially with a 6000+ seat arena going up in
another year.
If you go back a few years B.B.C. (Before Bruce Crowder) fan support at Lowell
was non-existent. I've heard stories of games with about a hundred fans in
the stands. Bruce came along, they started marketing the heck out of the
program, and the stands started to fill. Two years ago, the snowball got
rolling to the point where fans were excitedly making plans to go to Albany.
Where a few years prior there were no *home* fans, there was now the hint of
a, gasp, *travelling* group of nutcases. But Lowell got sent west and the
snowball melted a little.
This year, a travelling group has become a reality. Players salute the fans
after the upset at BU; in past years they'd have waited till after their
showers to thank Mom, Dad, and the girlfriend for their support. People
complain that they can't hear the radio broadcast at another BU game because
Lowell cheering drowns out the announcers. Other team's fans are starting to
notice the Lowell fans. The snowball gets bigger. Until at the Hockey
East playoffs a Boston Globe reporter refers to the Lowell fans as "by far the
loudest [fans there]" with BU and Maine as other teams involved. Las Vegas
probably would have given million-to-one odds a couple years ago on that
statement being made in 1996.
In about four or five years Lowell fandom has gone from being a laughingstock
to being an emerging force to be reckoned with.
But the difference between Albany and East Lansing for Lowell fans is a three
hour drive vs. a $700 plane ticket (yes, I called). Which means the difference
between four-digit Lowell attendance to barely making it out of the double
digits, if that. The difference between an emerging program getting the raw,
red meat to feed its fan base and going hungry.
All to bow at the shrine of no second round conference matchups and non-host
fan attendance? TWO NEW amendments to the precedents.
I wonder if the committe has an appreciation of how much momentum gets lost
when an emerging fan base gets slapped down like this. Most schools with huge
fan bases have either huge campuses or long Division 1 traditions. Lowell has
neither but is building the support anyways. But the new amendments to the
precedents hurt. A lot.
If using well established precedents Lowell had been sent West, I'd have had
no problem. Doubters can check the archives a couple months back when I began
speculating that a low ranked Lowell team could make the dance as the
second ranked Hockey East team in light of the Maine situation. I talked about
them being deservedly sent West. UML's ascendance in the rankings (not to
mention Providence's tourney win) made that a moot point.
On the ice, Lowell will be okay. I give them the second best chance among
non-bye teams of getting to the final four, nudging out Minnesota only because
of how much I respect Michigan. But *the program* has missed out on a huge
boost that it felt it had earned.
***************************************************** ,-******-,
* Dave Hendrickson "Robo" [log in to unmask] * *' ## '*
* A Hockey Polygamist and Get-A-Lifer * *## ___##___ ##*
* GO BROONS!!! Go Red Wings!! Go Canucks! * * ##| ___ \## *
* GO UMASS-LOWELL!!! Go BU!! Go Maine! Go Michigan. * * | |___) | *
* --------------------------------------------------* *######| ___ <######*
* Although I can't remember ever having an original * * | |___) | *
* thought, and am certainly parroting someone who * * ##|________/## *
* actually has a brain, these opinions are mine, * *## ## ##*
* not Hewlett-Packard's. * *, ## ,*
***************************************************** '-*******-'
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