Basketball in Domes

[picknroll]

Watched the games last night from Ford Field. That place is cavernous. It's analagous to playing football in arenas. It stinks and it's not normal. At Ford Field, the players are below court level, and the coaches walk back and forth like they're on a runway modeling for GQ. The damn place was half empty, so why in the hell do they think they need this type of environment? And to think the Final Four is there next year following the AlamoDOME this year.

Thanks for reading this negative post. I had to get this off my chest. Now back to positive thinking the rest of the day...


Go X, Beat UCLA.

[toledodan]

while it gives alot of fans a chance to feel the game atmosphere it provides little beyond that. i went to ford field for wrestlemania last year and i sat in what would be the endzone for a football game. needless to say i couldn't see $hit. granted it was cool being there with 80,000 other fans it just wasn't a good viewing experience. the fact the ncaa is now using the whole dome instead of a half just shows greed more than anything else. i was in atlanta for the X / duke game in 2004 and that set up was much better. i sat center court about 20 rows from the top and while high had a great view of the game. i couldn't imagine how bad those seats would have been if the whole dome would have been used.

[LA Muskie]

Watched the games last night from Ford Field. That place is cavernous. It's analagous to playing football in arenas. It stinks and it's not normal. At Ford Field, the players are below court level, and the coaches walk back and forth like they're on a runway modeling for GQ. The damn place was half empty, so why in the hell do they think they need this type of environment? And to think the Final Four is there next year following the AlamoDOME this year.
Thanks for reading this negative post. I had to get this off my chest. Now back to positive thinking the rest of the day...

Go X, Beat UCLA.

I agree 100% The NCAA has to get past their attendance fetish and remember that this is about playing and watching BASKETBALL. These games should be played in the best possible BASKETBALL venues. Period. And they most certainly shouldn't be played on courts -- like those at Ford Field -- that actually create an increased injury risk for the players.

[dc_x]

Billy Packer commented last night during the Texas-Stanford game that the arena seemed dead. Then he turned around and said - "There are a ton of Texas fans here, but they are all so far from the court you can barely hear them."

I remember being at the Xavier-New Orleans game in the Hoosier dome. We sat in the 2nd to last row. You couldn't even tell if a shot went in. I remember an airball that hit the net - we all stood up and cheered because it looked like a swish from where we were sitting.

[Kahns Krazy]

while it gives alot of fans a chance to feel the game atmosphere it provides little beyond that. i went to ford field for wrestlemania last year ....

Well, I can see one of your problems already....

[muethibp]

It would be nice if these games were played in the biggest of real arenas...Rupp, Meadowlands, etc. Cram as many people in, yet keep it in a real atmosphere.