blacklung wrote:
I think the class A tourney is more about the teams and towns they represent.
The AA tourney is packed no matter who is there. I believe the least attended Class A tourney matchup you could have is 2 privates.
If it's a Break/STA final this year, attendance will be low. Hermantown/Marshall game in 07 was the same way. Hermantown side packed, Marshall not.
The privates do not have a fan base of a town to draw from. In the TV coverage of the Herm/Sta game last year, they never panned the whole side of Sta as they did want to show the lack of fans.
If it was not for the cadets, not much would have been happening over there.
Put 2 publics in there and both sides, like the Herm/Hib game, would be packed.
The only way any private is gonna get a full arena is if they play AA. My opinion.
Thanks for proving my whole point.
The AA tourney is respected as "better hockey" and people just go to those games yearly to see the teams play. Passed the first round it often isn't much better hockey, but is respected by the state. A Hill-Murray/Holy Angels AA game would have a much bigger crowd than a Mahtomedi/Delano A game.
The time slots of the A games may have something to do with it, but the respect for the tourney itself is much more a factor.
Just keep proving my point
If I'm not mistaken, the majority of the AA tickets are already sold.
If that was not the case and people bought tickets after they found out who was in the games, 2 privates in AA would not fill the arena.
Not enough people would care.
HShockeywatcher wrote:
I think we are in agreement about...eh...90%.
-I don't like a system that puts teams like Legacy Christian Academy.
-I also don't know that you can jump as far as "nobody wants that." I won't ramble like I have in the past, but the biggest reason that people in general wouldn't want that is the attitude that your class implies ability.
The only issue I have with doing the bottom 64 and allowing opt ups is that it would really become a toilet bowl tournament. Any good teams left would most likely opt up and the tournament would be a waste.
Just my opinion, but I agree with the general line of thinking.
What would you think of this:
All privates that have ever made section semifinals and the next public schools to make 72 in AA. 9 team sections. That leaves 83 for A.
Just a thought. I don't like the idea of teams opting up in a two class system that would have numerous successful teams, but I could live with it.
HSHW, I like Your line of thinking on the 9 team sections and lower 83 for the A class and agree with most of the observations You make. The one question I do have however is do You not think the A tourney is a waste already? The teams that will make the semi's and finals have been predetermined for quite some time now. With the exception of the 10 Breck and STA fans, and the Hermantown folks, who really cares anymore? The A side of things has been a mockery for quite some time now. There is simply no way that small public schools, with the exception of 2 or 3, can compete with schools drawing from a population of 3.5 million in a metro area. And yes, I know You agree with most of this. Point being the A tourney is a joke already and the attendance for the last 10 years speaks loudly to this. IMO.
Did you watch the A tourney last year? Thief River's big win over Breck, Hibbing taking Hermantown to the limit behind a great performance by Adam Johnson, the OT win of STA over Hermantown? I thought it was a great tourney.
As far as attendance being down, of course it would be for a tournament of smaller schools from smaller communities. The lower bowl was nearly full for the Hibbing-Hermantown semifinal last year, not bad for a couple of schools whose combined enrollment is still less than half of a Minnetonka or Eden Prairie.
You're right that the private schools have hurt the A tourney. The A tourney is for smaller schools, schools whose teams are built from the community.
A lot of D-1 players come from single A teams; it is quality hockey, especially for those who have a rooting interest.
No disrespect to the class A players and teams, that was not my point nor was it My intention. The point is this... I would be willing to bet a steak dinner at manny's restaurant that 2 of the top 3 teams in class A right now today, will be in the final of the state tourney come March. On the flip side, I would never bet on the AA side of things because of the parody and overall talent of those teams. Why is the A tourney so predictable year after year, minus last year because I agree it was outstanding? That was the point of my post. People can say its because AA schools have more kids etc... but thats not the reason why the scales are tipped so much on the A side of the tourney bracket. The betting part is a hypothetical as I know there is no betting on this site, just using it to illustrate the point.
Last edited by The X on Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
rainier wrote:I don't get why anyone thinks the A tourney sucks. Obviously the AA tourney is better hockey, no one would dispute that, but the A tourney is a lot of fun too, even with the sandbagging privates dominating it.
I bet ALOT of people on this message board watched a bunch of last year's A games. Two of the seeded teams got upset in the quarters and the best two teams ended up in the final. It was great.
I think many HS hockey fans are so into HS hockey because of the tradition, and the A tourney gives some of these storied programs a chance to continue going to state despite big declines in enrollment. I think HS hockey is much better off having teams like Warroad, Hibbing, Virginia, TRF, EGF, I-Falls mix it up with the more recent successes like Hermantown, Duluth Marshall, Mahtomedi, Little Falls, and the metro private schools.
I love both tourneys, HS hockey is a blast.
I agree. I go to all of the Class A games I can no matter who is in them. They are a blast and not as crowded. Class AA just too crowded for me and I like watching them on TV.
This is a perennial paradox with a really simple solution: Go watch the top AA teams play the top A teams. It happens all the time, and it's not always the big school that wins. Hill-Murray against St. Thomas is always a great game, to name just one.
While I too love the state tourney, conversations about the AA versus A brackets (and getting all righteous about the old days of the single class) are almost always by people who don't go watch any other high school hockey games during the regular season.
