It's Time to Cut Playoffs

We live a world today where America is about to go bankrupt and despite how much the cuts that are coming hurt each and everyone of us they are needed to get our government, our State and Counties back solvent again. The days of a chicken in everyone’s pot is over..

The North Carolina High School Athletic Associations has streamed line the playoffs to help with cost. The past was Monday-Wednesday- Friday girl’s playoffs and boys were in action Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday.

This allows teams that are lucky enough to have both their boys and girls team playing at home to have a double header in one night instead of having to have one game on Monday and Turn around and have another on Tuesday. The first round games are always the higher seeds playing those teams that should be home getting ready for the spring sports so fan interest is not there knowing a blowout is coming.

If you remember during the playoffs last year several games were delayed because of weather and some did not finish the sectionals until the Monday of regional week. That led the Regional to double up games later in regional week to stay on schedule. The sectionals now have a weather day makeup Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday if needed since everyone is playing M-W-F.

I like the new schedule even though it makes choices for some schools. Northern Nash’s girls had a home game while the boys were on the road. Which one would I go to? I think we have already established that not many people go to the first round any way so I don’t think many Northern boy fans went to Southern Lee except some of the cheerleaders and Mama and Papas.

So the state is making progress in cutting cost. There is one glaring issue that can save everyone major embarrassment as well as save money. Let’s give all the #1 seeds byes in the first round and let’s eliminate all the 2-21 teams in the playoffs that were lead to the slaughter last night.

Currituck brought their boy’s team to Rocky Mount with a 2-21 record. They play in the Northeastern Coastal 3-A-2-A league and as a 3-A school couldn’t even beat the 2-A schools in their league. But because they were second in the 3-A part of their league they got to come to Rocky Mount last night to give Rocky Mount a practice session.

How odd that is it that their girl’s team is just as bad. They came to Northern Nash with a 2-21 record and go home 2-22. Now when we consider the cost of gas for buses and Currituck is 30 miles beyond Elizabeth City which adds up to about 150 miles one way where did the state make any money after expenses last night. Nobody was there to watch Rocky Mount have a scrimmage against a JV team. 200 may be. Currituck brought all their players on just one bus so they saved some expense but a lot more could have been saved if they were not in playoffs.

Imagine being a Currituck player riding an activity bus 300 miles and some of it after 9.00pm at night. Their score keeper told me it took three and a half hours to get here. The game ended about 8.45 by the time they dressed and stopped for food they might have been home by 1am.

When you factor gas, referees, security, eating expense for the visiting team and who knows what ever expense comes out of the pot to be split three ways between the State-Rocky Mount and Currituck. Then at Northern there was the State, Northern and Currituck. I think there is a point in time when I save money by not spending it regardless of how much I might get in return for the expenditure. In this case not much.

The State’s idea is the more playoff games we have the more revenue that comes in to the NCHSAA and that is their operating budget from year to year. I think less games with more quality to them will bring more people to watch fewer games. If more people watch fewer games with less expense then the NCHSAA is putting more money in their coffers. Isn’t this what it is all about any way, more money for the State Association?