MsNole
Unregistered
|
Quote:ACC Tournament Journal - Wrap Up
by Drew Hankin
Ok, so FSU didn't have the same storybook ending in the 2005 Tournament as they had in 04. There was no valiant beating of Georgia Tech once, let alone twice in one day as the Nole did last time. Instead, there was an embarrassing 18-2 mercy-killing by the Jackets, who went on to down the Virginia Cavaliers 5-4 on Sunday to win the 05 crown. Oh well. Finishing tied for third in the Tournament (with Clemson) is nothing to sneeze at, especially considering teams like Miami and UNC bowed out in just two games. The score didn't bother me too much. I'm pretty much at the point where a loss is a loss, no matter by how much. I sat through a 15-0 shutout at the hands of Hawaii back in March, and that one was harder to take than this game. Of course I also had a heck of a lot more fans and a bunch of Animals to share in the misery this time.
The Good
- The Jacksonville Sports and Entertainment Board, the Jacksonville Suns, the Atlantic Coast Conference, and everyone who helped bring the Tourney to Jacksonville. I've been to two Tournaments in Durham, two in Charlotte, and two in St. Pete, and I can honestly say that from a fan's standpoint, Jacksonville did a better job than any of the other locations. It's nudged Charlotte away from being my favorite site. Each site had it's plusses and minuses. St Pete had a great location with the hotel across the street and Baywalk a block or so away for dining and entertainment, but the stadium doesn't compare to any of the others. Charlotte has the nicest stadium, but it's located 15 minutes or so from Charlotte, and there's nothing anywhere around. Durham's stadium was nice, but practically no one showed up for the games. From the staff running the place, to the security, to the folks running the concession stands, Jacksonville was first class the entire time. Even the cop who got onto Mongo for getting on top of the dugout to do his NOLES cheer was nice about it.
- The FSU fans who showed up to the games were loud and visible. They backed the Animals up when we started cheers, and even started their own stuff when we settled down at times. That's something that fans at Howser almost never even do.
- Local Jacksonville media did a pretty good job covering the Tournament, and The Animals were featured both in the Jacksonville Times Union and on at least one of Lee Gordon's local news shows (he works for both WTEV-WAWS).
- The Baseball Grounds has top notch concessions and fairly reasonable prices (well, for stadium food at least). Aramark should take some lessons from the people who run that place. I'm certainly going to use some things I saw as suggestions on how to fix/improve what's going on at FSU during the off-season.
- 66,475 total attendance (or at least tickets sold). Just fantastic!
The Bad
- GT coach Danny Hall whining about a strike non-call when his team was up 11-2. I'm fairly sure that one of the things that home plate umpire Tony Maners said to Hall before he tossed him from the game as, "Coach,
your team is up 11-2 - shut the heck up!"
- Maybe I'm spoiled living in a college town, but Jacksonville needs some restaurants that stay open past 10:00 pm on a weeknight.
- On the whole, the ACC umpiring in the Tournament was pretty darn bad. The conference seriously needs to re-evaluate how Tournament officials are chosen, because half of the guys on the two crews involved were downright horrible. And I'm not just talking about stuff that happened in FSU games either. Remember, I watched a heck of a lot of baseball last week. While I'm ranting about umpires, AJ Lostaglio - please keep our hands to yourself! I talked to catchers on few different teams during the Tournament, and when I asked them what they thought about you putting your hand on their back during games, they all said it was pretty annoying and distracting.
The Ugly
- Losing for the fifth straight time to Georgia Tech. I think I'm at the point where I hate losing to Tech more than losing to Miami. At least I respect Miami's program and coach.
- Jacksonville Seminole Club - I'm calling you out! As I mentioned above, I've been to Tournaments in Durham, Charlotte, and St. Pete. I've traveled to Atlanta, Clemson, and Tempe. In each of those cities, the local Seminole club has had a tailgate/hospitality tent set up and has gone out of their way for the fans, baseball parents, and team. I get emails before practically every single road trip the Noles make, from clubs all over the country asking me to get the word out about tailgates they're holding which coincide with the baseball series. Why then, in a city the size of Jacksonville - who supposedly has a 17,000+ member booster club, did y'all do absolutely nothing? I understand that some Club members volunteered at the stadium, and I applaud that, however it appeared that the Jax Club did absolutely nothing else. Looking at their website, I see nothing special other than listing the Tournament as an 'upcoming event' with date and time. Sorry folks, that's downright disgraceful. Hopefully y'all can redeem yourselves next year. May I suggest contacting some of the other clubs who've hosted Tournaments and getting some pointers?
|
|
