Las Vegas Roll Call

[Beeeej]

Can we all just agree the tournament would be greatly improved by eliminating the "professional" cheerleaders?
...
But as far as I could tell, these cheerleaders just stood on the stairs and wiggled. With FloSports in particular, the cheerleaders really detracted from the enjoyment of watching the game. Frequently, when there was a lull in the action, the camera would focus on the cheerleaders. Why? About the only saving grace was when they were "dancing" with young children. Meanwhile, the teams were setting up for a faceoff, but because the cameras were on the cheerleaders, viewers couldn't see who was on the ice or what the teams' strategies were. And the announcers said nothing about it.

Sounds like the problem was the broadcast, not the cheerleaders. Being there in person, I didn't feel they detracted from the experience - certainly no more than the jock jams or the $17 beers.

As for the cheerleader/hooker controversy, if you saw one of the cheerleaders dressed in her cheerleader costume on the strip, what would you guess is her occupation?::dribble::

Cheerleader or promotional model.

[French Rage]

But I had a good time, because I know my comfort areas, and can get away from the overstimulating noise. It also carries some nostalgia for me. On top of that, it was a well run tournament overall. Ushers were friendly and left us to sit where we pleased. They provided bands, which shows they kind of "get" what the college game is about. You really don't need a damn car to get there. It wasn't perfect. Endless Jock Jams, an unexplained early championship game that left even the arena staff confused, and yeah, shootouts are lame. But it was a good show. The FF is coming.

This.

I enjoyed the tournament, it was a positive, and I would do it again.  Now, maybe part of that is I live in CA and so I'm up for any game(s) that close to me.  Yes Las Vegas is crass and over-the-top, but if done sparingly the ridiculousness of it is actually a positive in a campy way.  My wife and I didn't do any gambling because we have no interest in it, but it's still fun to people watch others going about it.  Yes it's designed to separate you from your money, but if you're a halfway reasonable adult you know how to avoid that; heck we each made $20 reviewing a TV show!

Positives:
- As mentioned above, close to where I live and fun to walk around for a couple days.
- Overall running of the tournament.  Decent arena, easy to get in and out of, good restaurants nearby.
- The HS bands.

Negatives:
- Could have done without the long breaks in play.  Were those for commercials?  It hurt the flow a little and gave us little opportunity for remote-control goalie.
- As others have mentioned, the OT format.  But in the end, it was a tie and they needed an excuse to give out a trophy.
- Also as others mentioned, making the championship game the early one.

Overall the first positive outweighs all of the negatives by a mile.

Now, if they did it 10 straight years it might start to get old.  But for now I'd do it again.

[Beeeej]

But I had a good time, because I know my comfort areas, and can get away from the overstimulating noise. It also carries some nostalgia for me. On top of that, it was a well run tournament overall. Ushers were friendly and left us to sit where we pleased. They provided bands, which shows they kind of "get" what the college game is about. You really don't need a damn car to get there. It wasn't perfect. Endless Jock Jams, an unexplained early championship game that left even the arena staff confused, and yeah, shootouts are lame. But it was a good show. The FF is coming.

This.

I enjoyed the tournament, it was a positive, and I would do it again.  Now, maybe part of that is I live in CA and so I'm up for any game(s) that close to me.  Yes Las Vegas is crass and over-the-top, but if done sparingly the ridiculousness of it is actually a positive in a campy way.  My wife and I didn't do any gambling because we have no interest in it, but it's still fun to people watch others going about it.  Yes it's designed to separate you from your money, but if you're a halfway reasonable adult you know how to avoid that; heck we each made $20 reviewing a TV show!

Positives:
- As mentioned above, close to where I live and fun to walk around for a couple days.
- Overall running of the tournament.  Decent arena, easy to get in and out of, good restaurants nearby.
- The HS bands.

Negatives:
- Could have done without the long breaks in play.  Were those for commercials?  It hurt the flow a little and gave us little opportunity for remote-control goalie.
- As others have mentioned, the OT format.  But in the end, it was a tie and they needed an excuse to give out a trophy.
- Also as others mentioned, making the championship game the early one.

Overall the first positive outweighs all of the negatives by a mile.

Now, if they did it 10 straight years it might start to get old.  But for now I'd do it again.

All this, except that for dss28 and myself, we love Vegas - we're there once or twice a year to play poker and to visit good friends anyway, so this was a great excuse to add a trip. We have a few favorite places on the Strip, but we also know some great ones away from it (and several of them are inside that arbitrary 10-mile radius Trotsky suggested), and we know how to manage both our time and our money where poker is concerned. I think a Vegas Frozen Four is probably a fait accompli at this point, and that'll be even better - genuinely large chunks of time into which to slot poker tournaments.

They'd better not change the schedule on the fly a second time - I think people sort of understood this time, but a non-zero number of Cornell fans legitimately missed the championship game and they simply cannot afford to lose that sort of goodwill again, potential participant schools talk to each other. At least that won't be an issue for the Frozen Four.

[French Rage]

They'd better not change the schedule on the fly a second time - I think people sort of understood this time, but a non-zero number of Cornell fans legitimately missed the championship game and they simply cannot afford to lose that sort of goodwill again, potential participant schools talk to each other. At least that won't be an issue for the Frozen Four.

Honest question because I don't remember: did they ever explicitly say the second game on Saturday was the championship game, or did we all just assume because that's how it's always done?

[Beeeej]

They'd better not change the schedule on the fly a second time - I think people sort of understood this time, but a non-zero number of Cornell fans legitimately missed the championship game and they simply cannot afford to lose that sort of goodwill again, potential participant schools talk to each other. At least that won't be an issue for the Frozen Four.

Honest question because I don't remember: did they ever explicitly say the second game on Saturday was the championship game, or did we all just assume because that's how it's always done?

Yes, the schedule was explicit in quite a few places as having the consolation early and championship late. The official tournament page even still strongly implies it.

[upprdeck]

i was wondering when they mentioned it on the TV friday that it was the 530 game what was up.  still I wasnt sure what that even meant with the 3 hr time difference, i could have been 2:30 5:30 and not 5:30 8:30 for all i knew.

[ugarte]

Hooker count? - Cheerleaders in the rink excepted.

jesus christ, dude.

Huh, did you see them?

The stripper / daughter dances in the aisles were Take Your Daughter to Work: Sex Workers Edition.  They looked like they were auditioning to be America's Next First Lady.

ah, so we're going with the "snarky mullah" approach

[Trotsky]

Hooker count? - Cheerleaders in the rink excepted.

jesus christ, dude.

Huh, did you see them?

The stripper / daughter dances in the aisles were Take Your Daughter to Work: Sex Workers Edition.  They looked like they were auditioning to be America's Next First Lady.

ah, so we're going with the "snarky mullah" approach

Sheik Yerbouti

[adamw]

Everything good about Vegas is > 10 miles from the strip.  It's a fantastic city if you get away from the tourist areas.  Like any other city.

So you're saying you like people-less desert

[adamw]

It was disconcerting to see fewer Cornell fans at the championship game than the first round. The only explanation was that people missed the memo on the start time. Which is horrible.

I agree with everything, pro and con, said above at Vegas. This is relevant because there will be a FF there in the coming years. It's all but a done deal. It's completely crass and ridiculous, and a waste of resources. But in 3-day doses, I just take it for what it is and have a hoot with it. I don't gamble or drink much, so I don't get carried away. Just stick to what I find fun, and enjoy the energy of the surroundings. I can't imagine living there - but it's becoming a place more people are moving to, so ... that is changing the dynamic too.

[dbilmes]

It was disconcerting to see fewer Cornell fans at the championship game than the first round. The only explanation was that people missed the memo on the start time. Which is horrible.
.

One possible explanation for this is the fact that there was a pre-game alumni function before the first game, but not before the second game. I'm speculating that many of the fans who attended that the first night weren't planning on coming back the next night regardless of whether we were in the championship game or not.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Everything good about Vegas is > 10 miles from the strip.  It's a fantastic city if you get away from the tourist areas.  Like any other city.

So you're saying you like people-less desert

I like people-less desert. I spent Friday AM birding at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge and Saturday AM at Valley of Fire State Park. The birding wasn't fantastic, since it's winter, but the scenery was pretty damn amazing.

[andyw2100]

Negatives:
- Could have done without the long breaks in play.  Were those for commercials?

Without the long breaks the number of times FloHockey viewers got to see the Roman commercials may not have made it into triple digits.

[redice]

But I had a good time, because I know my comfort areas, and can get away from the overstimulating noise. It also carries some nostalgia for me. On top of that, it was a well run tournament overall. Ushers were friendly and left us to sit where we pleased. They provided bands, which shows they kind of "get" what the college game is about. You really don't need a damn car to get there. It wasn't perfect. Endless Jock Jams, an unexplained early championship game that left even the arena staff confused, and yeah, shootouts are lame. But it was a good show. The FF is coming.

This.

I enjoyed the tournament, it was a positive, and I would do it again.  Now, maybe part of that is I live in CA and so I'm up for any game(s) that close to me.  Yes Las Vegas is crass and over-the-top, but if done sparingly the ridiculousness of it is actually a positive in a campy way.  My wife and I didn't do any gambling because we have no interest in it, but it's still fun to people watch others going about it.  Yes it's designed to separate you from your money, but if you're a halfway reasonable adult you know how to avoid that; heck we each made $20 reviewing a TV show!

Positives:
- As mentioned above, close to where I live and fun to walk around for a couple days.
- Overall running of the tournament.  Decent arena, easy to get in and out of, good restaurants nearby.
- The HS bands.

Negatives:
- Could have done without the long breaks in play.  Were those for commercials?  It hurt the flow a little and gave us little opportunity for remote-control goalie.
- As others have mentioned, the OT format.  But in the end, it was a tie and they needed an excuse to give out a trophy.
- Also as others mentioned, making the championship game the early one.

Overall the first positive outweighs all of the negatives by a mile.

Now, if they did it 10 straight years it might start to get old.  But for now I'd do it again.

Another positive:   They proved that a hockey game could still be played without that silly practice of running "snow-shovelers" out there every few minutes....UGH!!

[upprdeck]

every game pretty much has to have those TV timeouts with the new contracts..

and the snow shovelers are required too.  the NHL requires them now.  surprised that the vegas game didnt.