Now I would expect this from some fans but not LSU Baseball fans. Complaining about the game being in Birmingham is laughable. Yes, Alabama has won 6 of 9 SEC Tourney Championships but only 4 of those were in Hoover. Look at the other teams that won this thing! *1997 -- Ok I think you know how good Alabama was this year. I might be mistaken but wasnt this the year Alabama beat LSU 28-2 in one game? LSU ended up beating Alabama for the NC. *1999 -- Now this was the year we finished 21-9 in the SEC only to finish 2nd in the West behind an Arkansas bunch (22-8) that we swept and we knew we were better than them. Alabama ended up #4 in the national polls after their CWS 2-2 record. So tell me again, do you really think its Hoover that caused that 9-3 win over Arkansas in the Championship game? *2000 -- This Alabama team led the regular season for all but 3 days in the season and blew it at the end. They finished 20-10 which was 1.5 games behind South Carolina. This Alabama team finished with a 51-15 record and only fell out of top 10 (finished in top 15) b/c of the upset loss in the regional's final game by 1 run. So just because Alabama's 2002 team went from 1-9 in 10 games to 4-0 vs 3 top 15 teams, that does not mean you can say Alabama has an unfair advantage and try to take away from the past teams. Alabama won the SEC Tourney in 95 and 96 when it wasnt in Hoover and 1995 was the year after finishing last in the SEC and Jim Well's first year. It was more of a surprise than this year. Birmingam, Alabama is where the SEC Office is located and it is pretty much the center of the league. If any of you guys have ever been to Hoover, Alabama I don't think you would want it changed. That is a beautiful park and a beautiful city. By the way, if it is such home field advantage, why does Auburn do so poorly there? I think you need to just give Alabama credit. ROLL TIDE ROLL Good Luck to all SEC teams, except Auburn, in the Regionals!
I think most everyone gives Bama proper credit for the win. I think the fact that Alabama won in it's backyard just brings up the discussion of whether or not the tourney should rotate to different locations. It's a valid discussion.
The complaint is that it's there every year. Don't tell me there weren't some Roy Kramer/C.M Newton shenanigans going on there.
Who cares. Baseball more than any other sport nulls a homefield advantage when it comes to fan noise. Familiar surroundings is what truly counts in baseball home field advantage. If Alabama played their games there I'd say something's wrong, but they don't and they won. Regardless, LSU is a big NCAA tourney team. Lets do it Tigers!
Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium are beautiful parks too but it doesn't mean that the SEC tournament should be played in one of those places every year any more than it should be played in Hoover. There are great stadiums in New Orleans, Memphis, Atlanta and elsewhere within the SEC area and the tournament should be rotated on a yearly basis. I'm not saying the reason LSU lost Sunday was because the Tigers were or the road staying in a hotel and Tuscaloosa is close enough to Hoover so that the Bama players could sleep in their own beds at night and basically carry on their lives like they would during a mome stand but being on the road does take its toll. As far as Birmingham being where the SEC Office is located that makes as much sense as saying that because the NCAA Office is located in Indianapolis that the College World Series should be moved from Omaha to Indiana.
I disagree. By Sunday, MSU, SC, Vandy, AU, Arky and Ole Miss had been eliminated and most of their fans were on their way home. Whose fans do you think scarfed up those tickets? CBB players are young kids and they feed off of the fan's enthusiasm. It can make a mediocre team play up to, or beyond their limits, which is borne out by the fact that a mediocre Alabama team won the tournament. And, good for them. I just think all of the other teams should have that same opportunity once in a while.
