This is a serious question.

Today's regional NCAA Tournament games are being played in stadiums designed for and used by pro football teams. Venues that hold 50,000+ fans.

This is a trend that I absolutely despise.

First of all, it literally distorts the games. Players are used to shooting in arenas with much smaller dimensions (unless they play for Syracuse). Their shots get thrown off as they adjust to the different backgrounds that mega-arenas present. A mediocre defense can make a decent offense look terrible, just because the players miss shots they'd make in most other arenas.

Secondly, it takes the crowd out of the game. The great thing about basketball is the intimacy. The best venues are the ones where the players can hear the individual yells from the fans. The venue that visiting teams dread the most is Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, which holds about 9,000 people. A very thick skin is a requirement to play there. In the mega-arenas the fans might as well be in a different area code.

Lastly, how enjoyable is it for the fans to watch? I sat in the upper deck of the Dean Dome a couple times. It was impossible to see what was going on and you got a much better view just by watching the games on TV, which is why I rarely attended games in college, even though students got free tickets.

The people in the stands aren't there to watch a basketball game. They're there just to say that they were there, which is just silly.

And the fans at home get deprived of the passion and intensity that makes basketball such a beautiful game.

Why? Just so the NCAA can generate more revenue from sales of tickets, souvenirs and concessions.



I'm intentionally posting this in GD because I think this is yet another example of greed run amok that's absolutely ruining something that was once wonderful.

What do you guys think?