Ah, it is indeed an age of sequels and reboots, isn’t it? Some are good ideas to revisit. Some…not so good. There are occasions when doing something really, really well the first time around should probably be the last time around.
In my college basketball news feed this AM:
“Gonzaga and Michigan State are now finalizing plans to play a neutral site game on an aircraft carrier in San Diego on Veterans Day.”
Back on Veterans Day 2011, a college basketball game was played aboard the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego between Michigan State and North Carolina. Carolina won 67-55 in front of over 8,000 fans and military personnel, including President Obama. Seeing two national basketball powers play in such a majestic, inspiring setting was very cool. A second court was set up in the hangar bay just in case, but the weather held up its end. Temperatures were in the 60’s and there were calm winds. This game was absolute television eye candy, although it was not great hoops…the teams managed to miss 77 of their combined 123 shots.
It turned out to be the highest-rated November college basketball game on ESPN in 19 years.
College basketball’s next season featured four games on the national television schedule from carrier settings as part of Veterans Day ceremonies. One woman’s game was slated between Ohio State and Notre Dame, with the men’s games to be Ohio State-Marquette, Georgetown-Florida and Syracuse-San Diego State.
The sequels that Veterans Day weekend did not quite live up to the original…
Ohio State-Notre Dame: On the USS Yorktown in Charleston, temperatures were still in the 50’s when the women began their game…but the temperature dropped as soon as the sun did. It was a poorly played game, with both teams combining to miss 71 of 109 shots from the floor. Notre Dame won 57-51.
Ohio State-Marquette: The second game of a scheduled doubleheader aboard the now-chilly Yorktown, it found the teams’ warm-up time occupied by coaches and players staying warm working towels and squeegees to try to get condensation off the court. The game never took flight and was canceled.
Georgetown-Florida: On the USS Bataan in Jacksonville, a badly-played first half concluded with Florida up 27-23. However, similar to the situation in Charleston, condensation got to the court. During halftime, the game was canceled.
Syracuse-San Diego State: On the USS Midway in San Diego, a threat of rain pushed the game out two days. Played during the day (instead of at night as originally scheduled), there was no rain…but it was very windy. It was also a poorly played game, with both teams combining to miss 77 out of 119 shots. Syracuse won 62-49.
Playing basketball outdoors – on an aircraft carrier – is not like playing basketball indoors in an arena. Weather takes center stage away from the players. You are trading great optics for great basketball.
And, you are also compromising player safety.
No amount of television appearance money is worth that.
Back in late February of this past college basketball season, Xavier and Providence played a thrilling, triple-overtime game. Yet, with just under three minutes left in regulation, those in charge were talking about the possibility of having to gather up the players and coaches and bus them to Providence’s practice facility to finish the game due to a leak in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center ceiling.
You can’t play basketball on water. It might be fair to ask athletes to take aim with no background behind the basket, to shoot into the wind, and to even play with a sweatshirt underneath the jersey…but it absolutely isn’t fair to ask athletes to play when there is even the slightest chance of the court not being pristine.
Since that debacle of a weekend, television and college administrators have been successfully staging Veterans Day games – indoors – from various military facilities. They’ve done a great job with them and as you might expect, the quality of play was improved.
I think people should think long and hard about pursuing sequels, especially if the original is so perfect.
I also happen to think people should learn from their mistakes.
Picture Courtesy US Navy/Roza Arzola
walkingoffthechessboard 
I could argue otherwise. Football is played in horrible weather on fields turned into mud holes. Soccer does the same. The entire game of hockey is played on ice, and for a good part of the game, that ice is gouged, chipped, slippery and unsafe for a polar bear to cross. Your argument indicates that basketball players are nothing but fair weather sissies, and after watching the cry babies in the NBA, I concur.
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I know absolutely nothing about basketball and therefore have no witty comment to add. Baseball and boxing are my sports.
😉
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Boxing was something I followed growing up, but have drifted away from over the years. I still do pay attention to the heavyweight and middleweight divisions, which have always been for whatever reason my favorites.
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Me too! I kind of lost interest when it seemed they were introducing new “Championship belts” faster than Mike Tyson could knock out an opponent. I think at one point there were 5 Heavyweight champions, recognized by 5 different boxing authorities. Oh, yeah, and Don King contributed to my disinterest. What an asshole he was.
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Totally agree. Too many boxing authorities in play made it crazy to keep up with.
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My very good friend Mike Waters has been covering Syracuse basketball for the local daily since the air carrier game vs. San Diego State, wotc, and he recently revisited how misguided the idea of playing in that setting is in a column. You are spot on. Too many bad things await beyond each bounce.
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Mark, I liked the idea initially and wanted it to work…once. But looking back, even that was selfish on my part. I know what it was like for me when I slipped on a surface playing hoops, and that was on a regulation, indoor well-kept court. I know you can get hurt at any time, but there’s no reason to increase the chance. Thanks for the heads-up on Mike’s column.
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