ballcoach15 wrote:Big win last night. hopefully we can get #1 seed for tourney.
Having tourney in High Point hurts attendance because of their small gym in my opinion. Plus HP may get help from refs on their home floor. I was told HP has worse gym in Big South.
As a High Point fan, I'm so thankful for the home court advantage last during that semifinal game and the help the officials gave. Without that help, it might have been a 40 point loss. Thank you, cowed and spineless officials.
And IIRC correctly, the semifinal game at High Point last year was basically half full if that, even though 1)One of the participants was the home team (High Point) and 2)the 2nd participant was the #1 seed and the powerhouse of the conference (Liberty.) I believe High Point's students were on break last season, so maybe there would have been more if the tournament was scheduled the week prior, but I doubt the gym would have been filled. And maybe if the game had been played in Liberty, there would have been more people attending (but I doubt it would have been as many as the men's championship game that I went to in 2003(?--I'm getting old) where Liberty routed High Point.
Overall, the attendance at the Big South women's tournament is not going to be great because frankly, a lot of people don't care about it, just as they might not care about women's soccer or baseball or whatever. There's more interest in men's basketball, for better or worse and no matter how hard ESPN tries to shove it down people's throats. I appreciate the effort. I've tried to follow High Point's women's basketball through the years. As a young boy, I attended the championship game of the AIAW Division II in Florence, SC in 1978 when High Point won. But no matter what the situation, for the most part attendance at the men's game is going to be greater than the women's.
If Liberty was hosting the tournament this year and the finals ended up being Charleston Southern versus Presbyterian, I don't believe I would have to look for a scalper to get a ticket, just as I don't think I would have to find one if the same matchup occured at High Point. A larger venue may increase the attendance, but in all likelihood only if one of the participants is a local squad, and probably wouldn't increase as much as one might think.
It was said of the former Dallas Cowboy running back Walt Garrison, if you needed 4 yards and gave Walt the ball, he'd get you 4 yards. And if you needed 20 yards and you gave him the ball, he'd get you 4 yards. Moving the women's tournament from an 1800 seat facility to a 6000 to 8000 seat facility ain't going to increase the attendance too much, if at all, just based upon the facility itself.
I apologize for the rant. Congratulations to Liberty for the win last night. You are still the team to beat in the conference. I hope that High Point can pick up the pieces after a disappointing 2 game homestand. Maybe a 3rd game will be played later this season.
- By PAmedic
- By Dalegarz1