DoctorBombay
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- Aug 27, 2011
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In my freshman year at SU, as the Dome was going up, there were 2 big debates going on.
(1) Whether the Carrier Dome should be named after Ernie Davis (Davis Dome?).
(2) Whether bball games should be moved from Manley, one of the best home-courts in the country, to some artificial "football field".
The arguments for #1 were mostly idealistic. The compromise was the "Ernie Davis Room".
The arguments for #2 were more emotional. Manley was our home-court, why give up a "sure win" in exchange for a cavernous arena that lacked atmosphere? Why let the almighty dollar impact the program's winning traditions? Where would the students sit- the "Manley Zoo" would disappear? If we started to lose, the team would play to endless empty seats. etc. etc.
Years later, as the Dome home-court advantage became obvious, as the BEast & our rivalry w/ GTown solidified, as ESPN basically rode us (Dome, GT vs SU) to viability, alot of those arguments evaporated.
Therefore, when I read about folks with different priorities talking about the disadvantages of moving the court, I tend to be a bit skeptical. Moving the court, IMHO, if done well and with some aforethought, will be of ENORMOUS benefit to SU, whether its games against Duke or anyone else. It would undoubtedly be the talk of any sports cycle, and just like we led CBB into "30K+ crowds" on a regular basis, we would be the pioneers of 50K+ crowds. We'd be at another level when it comes to every other program. Period.
Long-term fans will grumble, and rightly so. They have supported this program forever, watched this thing explode, and truly deserve all due consideration. But my lesson learned as a snot-nosed kid back in the day was: You can't stop progress.
In a few years, as we rack up attendance record after record, as our ACC rivalries, recruiting, GTown home-&-homes and other games, become "sporting EVENTS", then I submit... most of the grumbling will go away.
We are perhaps the only program that could pull this kinda thing off. And just as the Dome made us first and unique in CBB- our moving the court can/will do the same...only greater. I say, go for it!
LGO!
(1) Whether the Carrier Dome should be named after Ernie Davis (Davis Dome?).
(2) Whether bball games should be moved from Manley, one of the best home-courts in the country, to some artificial "football field".
The arguments for #1 were mostly idealistic. The compromise was the "Ernie Davis Room".
The arguments for #2 were more emotional. Manley was our home-court, why give up a "sure win" in exchange for a cavernous arena that lacked atmosphere? Why let the almighty dollar impact the program's winning traditions? Where would the students sit- the "Manley Zoo" would disappear? If we started to lose, the team would play to endless empty seats. etc. etc.
Years later, as the Dome home-court advantage became obvious, as the BEast & our rivalry w/ GTown solidified, as ESPN basically rode us (Dome, GT vs SU) to viability, alot of those arguments evaporated.
Therefore, when I read about folks with different priorities talking about the disadvantages of moving the court, I tend to be a bit skeptical. Moving the court, IMHO, if done well and with some aforethought, will be of ENORMOUS benefit to SU, whether its games against Duke or anyone else. It would undoubtedly be the talk of any sports cycle, and just like we led CBB into "30K+ crowds" on a regular basis, we would be the pioneers of 50K+ crowds. We'd be at another level when it comes to every other program. Period.
Long-term fans will grumble, and rightly so. They have supported this program forever, watched this thing explode, and truly deserve all due consideration. But my lesson learned as a snot-nosed kid back in the day was: You can't stop progress.
In a few years, as we rack up attendance record after record, as our ACC rivalries, recruiting, GTown home-&-homes and other games, become "sporting EVENTS", then I submit... most of the grumbling will go away.
We are perhaps the only program that could pull this kinda thing off. And just as the Dome made us first and unique in CBB- our moving the court can/will do the same...only greater. I say, go for it!
LGO!