I think long time ACC fans just have to accept that one of the downsides of expansion is the inevitable loss of tradition. If the ACC tournament could ever return to what it once was, I'd be arguing strongly for Greensboro. But it isn't that anymore, and truth be told, hasn't been for a long time now.

Dinosaurs like myself remember the tournament as the biggest event on the mid-Atlantic social calendar and the single biggest source of revenue for league members. In the old days, virtually every school in North Carolina had televisions in their classrooms to watch the opening round games. Same with factory breakrooms and office conference rooms. Work pretty much came to a halt that day, and it might as well have been a national holiday.

Ordinary fans couldn't get ticket books for the games - they were only available to the biggest donors. So you drove to Greensboro to score tickets from fans of first round losers heading home early. Once tickets started being available because teams outside the original compact ACC footprint didn't sell all their allotment to their own fans, and the internet provided a secondary market that didn't require your physical presence at the arena, a lot of the allure went away.

That's progress, I guess. Curmudgeons like me don't have to like it, but we do need to accept it - it's not ever going back to the way it was.