I find it funny that someone with a wrestling reference in their screen name would call someone else a redneck.

Still no good reason that the tourny should be there.

(02-16-2010 07:52 PM)murphster Wrote:  I will be in the minority on this but here goes.

Sports should be about fair play and for that reason I feel the tourney should be hosted at various venues. UTEP has a nice team which should be good again next year. I'm not up on their facilities but they sound good enough from the posts I've read. Now some schools may have lacking facilities and hotels and they should be excluded but I'm not sure that UTEP falls into that category. The distance to El Paso is a legit concern but for the sake of fairness I'm cool with it. I just don't think it should be there every other year. Quite honestly it shouldn't be in Memphis every other year either but I do understand why Memphis makes since for the tourney. I would say play it here every 2 years and rotate with the other schools. Again, still not fair but that is the current state of affairs. It is NOT because we are somehow superior, it is just simple logistics.

PS. It really is bush league for some tiger fans to dis other schools etc. We have been fortunate to have some very good teams the last few years along with the World Reknown Airport. The BCS schools defacate on us so we defacate on the other schools / cities in our conference? This makes us worse than the BCS schools. JMO

You are in the minority, but you're not alone on some of your points.

The tourney should have Memphis as its solid base. Obviously, it's centrally located, provides a great revenue stream for the conference and (without being arrogant) the facility is located on one of the nation's best entertainment streets. Only New Orleans in our geographic footprint has an entertainment area that equals Beale.

I would however, as you suggested, support a rotation of other cities, El Paso included. I support this for a a few reasons.....frankly, it's unfair for the Memphis fan base to fund the basketball championship every year, other cities deserve the opportunity to support the tourney in a substantial financial manner, and other fan bases that support their team in large numbers deserve an opportunity to showcase their ability to support the league's premier basketball event.

...just one fan's opinion.

(02-16-2010 09:55 PM)oldtiger Wrote:  

(02-16-2010 07:52 PM)murphster Wrote:  I will be in the minority on this but here goes.

Sports should be about fair play and for that reason I feel the tourney should be hosted at various venues. UTEP has a nice team which should be good again next year. I'm not up on their facilities but they sound good enough from the posts I've read. Now some schools may have lacking facilities and hotels and they should be excluded but I'm not sure that UTEP falls into that category. The distance to El Paso is a legit concern but for the sake of fairness I'm cool with it. I just don't think it should be there every other year. Quite honestly it shouldn't be in Memphis every other year either but I do understand why Memphis makes since for the tourney. I would say play it here every 2 years and rotate with the other schools. Again, still not fair but that is the current state of affairs. It is NOT because we are somehow superior, it is just simple logistics.

PS. It really is bush league for some tiger fans to dis other schools etc. We have been fortunate to have some very good teams the last few years along with the World Reknown Airport. The BCS schools defacate on us so we defacate on the other schools / cities in our conference? This makes us worse than the BCS schools. JMO

You are in the minority, but you're not alone on some of your points.

The tourney should have Memphis as its solid base. Obviously, it's centrally located, provides a great revenue stream for the conference and (without being arrogant) the facility is located on one of the nation's best entertainment streets. Only New Orleans in our geographic footprint has an entertainment area that equals Beale.

I would however, as you suggested, support a rotation of other cities, El Paso included. I support this for a a few reasons.....frankly, it's unfair for the Memphis fan base to fund the basketball championship every year, other cities deserve the opportunity to support the tourney in a substantial financial manner, and other fan bases that support their team in large numbers deserve an opportunity to showcase their ability to support the league's premier basketball event.

...just one fan's opinion.

I have no problem with an actual sustainable rotation, but I don't think there is anything arrogant about doubting how well it will go when other schools simply don't have the same size fan base or financial support to draw from.

I simply have gotten tired of fans, coaches, and ADs from other schools acting like they deserve the tournament, but their fans don't seem to understand what will be required of them to make it a success.

If they really want to step up, let them put together a truly superior bid, with appropriate financial guarantees to the conference. Then let them step up and support it. Memphis will still have the largest group of traveling fans, but maybe just a few hundred if it is far away, so the locals are going to have to carry the main burden because no one else travels in sufficient numbers.

The tournament COULD be a success at a neutral location if fans from other schools would travel, like in the B10 for example. But to hold it at a neutral and count on Memphis fans to buy the vast majority of the tickets is more unfair than having it in Memphis all the time.

I am REALLY sick of the "unfair" talk, and the truth is that there are legitimate reasons to doubt the level of success it will have elsewhere. It's not bashing, it's just dealing in actual facts. I'm not preventing or wanting to prevent other schools from hosting, as long as it is not a disaster

As for fairness and home court advantage, it hasn't mattered much. We will only have to win one true road game in the tournament, at most. That is a challenge, but it is not all that intimidating, to be honest. It's not that winning on the road isn't hard or that there aren't some other good teams, but it just isn't in our heads as anything close to insurmountable, for obvious reasons. Is that arrogant? Or just confident, based on experience?

My thesis is that the complaining about Memphis' advantage in the tournament has been misplaced, so if other schools think they should have it, then prove it, and if they can't stand up to a little legitimate critique, then maybe their case needs some work.

(02-16-2010 10:44 PM)lenetzach Wrote:  

(02-16-2010 09:55 PM)oldtiger Wrote:  

(02-16-2010 07:52 PM)murphster Wrote:  I will be in the minority on this but here goes.

Sports should be about fair play and for that reason I feel the tourney should be hosted at various venues. UTEP has a nice team which should be good again next year. I'm not up on their facilities but they sound good enough from the posts I've read. Now some schools may have lacking facilities and hotels and they should be excluded but I'm not sure that UTEP falls into that category. The distance to El Paso is a legit concern but for the sake of fairness I'm cool with it. I just don't think it should be there every other year. Quite honestly it shouldn't be in Memphis every other year either but I do understand why Memphis makes since for the tourney. I would say play it here every 2 years and rotate with the other schools. Again, still not fair but that is the current state of affairs. It is NOT because we are somehow superior, it is just simple logistics.

PS. It really is bush league for some tiger fans to dis other schools etc. We have been fortunate to have some very good teams the last few years along with the World Reknown Airport. The BCS schools defacate on us so we defacate on the other schools / cities in our conference? This makes us worse than the BCS schools. JMO

You are in the minority, but you're not alone on some of your points.

The tourney should have Memphis as its solid base. Obviously, it's centrally located, provides a great revenue stream for the conference and (without being arrogant) the facility is located on one of the nation's best entertainment streets. Only New Orleans in our geographic footprint has an entertainment area that equals Beale.

I would however, as you suggested, support a rotation of other cities, El Paso included. I support this for a a few reasons.....frankly, it's unfair for the Memphis fan base to fund the basketball championship every year, other cities deserve the opportunity to support the tourney in a substantial financial manner, and other fan bases that support their team in large numbers deserve an opportunity to showcase their ability to support the league's premier basketball event.

...just one fan's opinion.

I have no problem with an actual sustainable rotation, but I don't think there is anything arrogant about doubting how well it will go when other schools simply don't have the same size fan base or financial support to draw from.

I simply have gotten tired of fans, coaches, and ADs from other schools acting like they deserve the tournament, but their fans don't seem to understand what will be required of them to make it a success.

If they really want to step up, let them put together a truly superior bid, with appropriate financial guarantees to the conference. Then let them step up and support it. Memphis will still have the largest group of traveling fans, but maybe just a few hundred if it is far away, so the locals are going to have to carry the main burden because no one else travels in sufficient numbers.

The tournament COULD be a success at a neutral location if fans from other schools would travel, like in the B10 for example. But to hold it at a neutral and count on Memphis fans to buy the vast majority of the tickets is more unfair than having it in Memphis all the time.

I am REALLY sick of the "unfair" talk, and the truth is that there are legitimate reasons to doubt the level of success it will have elsewhere. It's not bashing, it's just dealing in actual facts. I'm not preventing or wanting to prevent other schools from hosting, as long as it is not a disaster

As for fairness and home court advantage, it hasn't mattered much. We will only have to win one true road game in the tournament, at most. That is a challenge, but it is not all that intimidating, to be honest. It's not that winning on the road isn't hard or that there aren't some other good teams, but it just isn't in our heads as anything close to insurmountable, for obvious reasons. Is that arrogant? Or just confident, based on experience?

My thesis is that the complaining about Memphis' advantage in the tournament has been misplaced, so if other schools think they should have it, then prove it, and if they can't stand up to a little legitimate critique, then maybe their case needs some work.

Well stated zach, and I agree with your comments. Financial viability must be predictable and sustainable or the entire league suffers.

having the tourney at UTEP would be as smart as eating a poop flavored popsicle

(02-16-2010 05:48 PM)missjtiger Wrote:  

(02-16-2010 05:39 PM)DxfanMiner Wrote:  We have a freaking national championship. Something you guys don't have . In fact you think you have a better basketball tradition. You've just had 4 good Years (thanks to cheating). We've run a clean program with less money and still have sontheing you don't. Go miners. Take your aggarance and shove it. Before I didn't cate you were down but you all want to act like jerks I hope you enjoy your nit year or god forbid cbi

I don't personally know any UTEP fans but I hope you aren't a representation of your fanbase.

I'm still trying to find my "aggarance"...