Tony Biscardi touched on some things I mentioned in my comments
to Mike Machnik's survey. I concur wholeheartedly, but will only
add my $.02 on a few points:
>#3 - As Shawn indirectly said at the Final 4, the intellectual
> fans (like us on hockey-l or the students at the Final 4) don't
>really matter since we'll go to the game anyway. The average,
>know-nothing schmuck (my words, not his) will, however, be
> instantly turnded on to the game. "That little kid will beg his
>mother to take him to another college hockey game." Sorry,
> but I'm selfish. I like good, pure hockey, not "show-time."
>(NBA term)
Showtime notwithstanding, I don't agree that the shootout will
add anything to the conversion of new fans. It's been my experience
that the exciting game of hockey itself, be it pro, junior, high school
or college, is enough to bring a new fan back. I'm sure everyone on
this list, from poster to lurker, has a similar testimony.
>#4 - 3 points available if the game goes into a shoot-out, but
> only 2 if it
>ends before that??? Blech!!!
Again, I concur. The CBA, responding to the standard complaint
that only the last five minutes of a basketball game are important,
uses a convoluted standings system in which teams get quarters
and halves of points for each quarter and/or half they win. If this
truly added to the game's excitement level and/or popularity, then
why hasn't the CBA blossomed? Why bother?
>Bottom line... I do NOT like shootouts, but not as much as I do NOT like
>seeding in the tourney based on fan support. What are we, div 1AA football???
An apropos comment! Bear in mind that five of Hockey East's nine
schools (BU, NU, UNH, Maine, and UMass-Amherst) play football in
Div-1-AA's Yankee Conference, which employs that dopey extra-
inning system. i'm not a football fan by any stretch, but someone
please tell me how a BU-NU football game decided in OT on alternate
possessions from the 30-yard-line is "better" than MSU and Notre
Dame's fabled 10-10 tie in 1966, *simply because a victor is
decided?*
Greg
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