Yes, it's quality ball, but did anyone really think this event would draw?
Intense basketball. Empty seats. Games like Niagara-Canisius did not bring fans to the MassMutual Center for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball tournament. A good friend was lamenting the lack of support for sports in Springfield, which recently learned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments would leave after the 2014 event.
MAAC basketball was a quality product, said this friend who is crazy about the sport. I agreed.
"So, did you go?'' I asked him.
Well, uh, no, he said. Case closed and moving on.
I don't blame him. Life is choices, money is a finite resource for some and as much as I hoped the city would cheer for Canisius, Loyola of Maryland or the like, it was hard to see that happening.
The MAAC decision was predictable but nonetheless sad. This league is run by good people.
When a tornado devastated Springfield in 2011, the MAAC kicked in $5,000 for relief. They were not city residents, they were customers, but they did it unflinchingly and to my knowledge, without being asked.
Good people.
Yet, can we really chastise Springfield for not going? With 20 teams (10 men, 10 women) filling the hotels and restaurants, this was a tremendous bonanza for the city economy, but people don't attend events for that reason.
They go to be entertained, or because they care about the participants. Springfield was asked to care about a league whose closest teams are in Albany (Siena) and Fairfield, Conn., and that was asking too much.
The city averaged about 15,000 fans over the two years it has been host. The MAAC will be back for one visit here in 2014, but the numbers will not approach those in Albany, which will get the event back in 2015.
In his exit interview, MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor's most pointed remark was that Springfield also did not offer a lot to do, beyond the games.
"If you have already been to the Hall of Fame, what are you going to do next?" Ensor asked.
Ouch. We have the museums, we have restaurants, but my real question is why this question was being raised now, and not when the site was picked.
The MAAC had left Albany because it wanted a neutral site. When Siena's program slipped, the best chance of getting large numbers of traveling fans went down, too.
I am sensitive about the Springfield market, not because it deserves a glowing reputation but because not all products fit. Ask me about the hockey Falcons, and I will tell you they deserve a support surge, starting now.
Coming off one of their best seasons in 20 years, the Falcons are limbering up for a big 2013-14 ticket push. This is a proven, time-honored product the fans should support.
The MAAC tournament is a good product, too, but not one that related well to Springfield. I applaud the city and the league for trying, and I wish the MAAC well.
There are other events that might make for a better match for the city. It's too bad this wasn't one of them.