No Mo-Town

Well, we are finally here. One of the greatest weekends in sports of the year. The NBA and NHL have hit the home stretch and teams are fighting for playoff berths. Ballpark hot dogs and peanuts are consumed as Opening Day (or in this case, Opening Night) hits stadiums and televisions across the country. Golf previews everywhere are gearing us up for the roars to come at Augusta National.

And finally... the Final Four. Please fasten your seat belts, and return your tray tables and seat backs to their upright and locked positions. This year we travel to lovely Detroit, Michigan; home to a 33% drop in population over the past few decades. Yes, literally one-third of the city is empty/abandoned/a ghost town. Have you heard: the auto industry is dying up there.

What a beautiful destination for one of sport's greatest showcases!

This really grinds my gears. The Superbowl is played in nice locations such as San Diego, Miami, Phoenix, etc. The biggest college football bowl games are played in similar places where the weather is nice and there are plenty of flashy activities. Then the other big sports: NBA, MLB, NHL, all have home and home series for their playoffs.

So, why does college basketball continue the trend of putting their fantastic finish (and maybe sport's greatest "playoff") in landlocked mundane locations. Indianapolis, St. Louis, Atlanta, Minneapolis, etc. Are you telling me that you would leave your HD TV behind and drop a few hundy on a trip to Minneapolis?

Nothing against these cities, but I'm just not intrigued enough to get up off the couch and attend one of my favorite sport's championship.

Now I'm not saying the NCAA has completely dropped the ball. Things are a little better when April Absurdity ends in San Antonio (home state bias alert). At least the weather is warm and you have the Riverwalk. In 2003, the association hit a homerun when the tournament led to New Orleans, but these occurrences don't happen often enough. They need to be routine.

Now, I understand that some of this has to do with it being a college sport. We don't want the little collegiate children getting themselves into any trouble, but college football has been fine (for the most part) and they play their games in Los Angeles and Miami.

Maybe, this is just a manifestation of me hoping that I have press credentials one day and get a free trip to the beach. Maybe this is just me nitpicking what I think is sport's greatest postseason. Or, maybe this is a change we need. As college basketball fans, we deserve a fantastic getaway when our team survives the tournament (unlike a random computer deciding that we deserve a good vacation).

One thing is for sure... we don't deserve a vacay to 8-Mile Road.

-B-Dubs