LCA and all other members of the VHSL should not be allowed to use college facilities as their home stadium. LCA should have been forced to build their own athletic facilities, and until those facilities were ready, they should either have to play all games on the road or not join the VHSL until their athletic facilities were ready.
STATE GAMES AT LU
- Thread starter wikki
- Start date
Based on the stadium they play home games in? How many home games do they have to play in college stadiums to be banned? Hampton schools have sometimes played games at Hampton U. Would that have led to a ban?
I second the Amen!
No question that a top rated officiating crew is just that, because they work together as a team. And just as important, they are usually led by a white hat that is a long term veteran. And he shares is positive influence and philosophy with the other officials.
Because of distance and weather, Sherando had no choice for the 2013 championship game, but having to come down the day before, stay in a hotel, and have a lot of time to kill did not help their cause. Dinwiddie got off the bus in game mode and were much more focused. I don't think it would have mattered if Dinwiddie had to use the McDonald's restroom to change. But, I truly believe that little things like which locker room you use can be a small, but real, positive or negative mental thing. This is where good coaching shines.
I think LT got hosed on the "home field" deal last year. And as if they needed it, I'm sure it was turned into a motivational thing in the locker room.
Statistically Rod, you may be right. But, depending on the team and the venue, I feel like, in my heart, it makes a difference to have the home field advantage, (specifically speaking to actually being at your home stadium).
Lake Taylor is a unique animal. I believe you could put them on a ten day bus ride to Boliva, and they would get off the bus in game mode. Naturally, I have a good natured chip on my shoulder against them, but I give the devil his due. (No pun intended, Devils99). LT manifest the philosophy, any team, any where, any time.
All this said, I agree that LCA has got a several year learning curve before we will see them in the last game or two of the year. If I'm wrong, please furnish catsup, salt, and pepper for my meal of foot.
Can you imagine Hampton Roads 6 even getting to Mid-Town Manhattan and then managing the Subway? Can you imagine him driving in Manhattan? He'd be complaining like hell about transportation and then say he couldn't find a decent place to eat. He'd come back willing to give up his left arm to stay in Richmond.
Rod. It's okay. I am just a strong opinionated person is all. I love this board and have been on here a long time. Love the Lancers
When they signed the contract with LU, LCA wasn't a VHSL member.
You guys are making WAY too big of a deal out of this. Home field really isn't that big of an advantage in football.
If no big deal, then why did VHSL not schedule state games where a team can play on their home field. I love the games at LU, right in my back door and have been to all the state games since Amherst, just commenting on this board is all
Home field is not an advantage to some teams but to some it can be, just my opinion
I agree with Wikki , Home field does matter, as does how far a team has to travel to play a game . it all matters. In reference to Dinwiddie Prouds comment on the state game in 13. Weather was miserable, All student buses were cancelled because it was freezing in the North. we had maybe 300 to 500 fans standing in the rain, while the Dinwiddie fans traveled half the distance , students were allowed to travel and could have easily been 4000 fans under the the roof staying dry. it does matter. I don't think the outcome of the game would have been different, but the home field does matter, and it did affect the game
But if one of the Lynchburg schools make the game they'll have the same travel advantage as LCA, they just won't be playing on their own field.
It seems like you took my comments as far more argumentative then they were intended. Who knows, I very well could change my mind on this. I'm not some crotchety old man who's set in his ways.
I guess my real thought is that the VHSL intentionally provides neutral field locations for the state championship games for football. Now that they have allowed LCA in, they need to shift LU's field to classifications where LCA does not participate. That's all I'm thinking.
Swapping Lynchburg with Salem makes sense and wouldn't be hard to do. Knowing the VHSL they'd probably end up sending the 5's and 6's to Liberty.
But what happens when Salem is playing for a 4A state tiltle on their home field? Same problem
As Devils pointed out, you'd have the same potential problem, plus I'm not sure it's big enough for 3/4a anyway.
Kind of a moot point, but I think it would be big enough. I don't know what the largest crowd has ever been at a 3a/4a championship game, but I doubt it would come close to filling Salem.
Again, a moot point. But aren't the 1a/2a championship games played at Salem?
Another thing to consider. I wonder what kind of deal LU and the VHSL have? I have to believe that it is more than year to year. If the contract provisions have not been breached, there is probably a significant "buy out" clause.
If I was the VHSL, and I was facing major expense to get out of the contract, and other than some bad press, my only real worry was that LCA was to reach the championship game before the contract expired. I would not even consider a change of venue.
And that's not even stating the other aspect of a move. Where the heck would they go? (meaning 1a/2/a).
I am just wildly speculating, but suppose you move the 1a/2a games elsewhere. Then would 7200 seats be enough for the 3/a 4/a games? I'm guessing 6000 would be adequate based on what I've seen. But, just as important, where would you move the 1a/2a games?
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What I was thinking was moving the 3/4's to Salem and the 1/2's to Liberty but Salem does make that idea useless. How about this? Plaay the games as scheduled and if LCA makes it they play at home. Big deal.
That's my thought process too. Oh well I know personally We like the road and hostile environments
Why can't they play at JMU or some of the other college stadiums? Would even the smaller division 2 or 3 schools work? I even remember when the WPIAL played their championship games in Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh and I never liked it because the stadium dwarfed the game itself. There were a lot of empty seats and made the setting hollow. Sometimes a smaller setting provides more electricity to the game.
I think any of the current venues(Charlottesville, Lynchburg or Salem) are large enough to accommodate the games for any of the classifications and there are other options that could work as well. While I don't see the home field alone as a significant issue, if the VHSL wanted to maintain maximum flexibility they could assign any classification to any venue and make assignments right up until the week before the championship game with minimal disruptions to schedules and the only caveat would be the impact on television scheduling for NFHS. The biggest potential drawback is teams might play further from home than what their original assigned site would have been and it could involve the VHSL incurring additional expense to cover increased travel cost(i.e., not make as much money). In the end it all boils down to a cost/benefit analysis for the decision makers.
LCA has their own Baseball and softball fields, and their own gym. LCA football would not have an advantage playing championship game in LU's stadium. I have seen them lose games on their own field.
The atmosphere of a state championship game is such, that it's a level playing field for both teams, due to the fact that it is turf field, the best locker rooms both team will have probably been in. Plenty of seating on both sides of the field. No one team would have a disadvantage. If you field a kickoff at the one yard line, it's 99 yards to the end zone on the return with no mud on field.
On other side of coin, I have been to LCA road games played on fields not much better than a cow pasture, and LCA still won.
The atmosphere of a state championship game is such, that it's a level playing field for both teams, due to the fact that it is turf field, the best locker rooms both team will have probably been in. Plenty of seating on both sides of the field. No one team would have a disadvantage. If you field a kickoff at the one yard line, it's 99 yards to the end zone on the return with no mud on field.
On other side of coin, I have been to LCA road games played on fields not much better than a cow pasture, and LCA still won.
As for HR6 going to New York. He owns no land up there, nor has he lost anything up there. Thus no reason to ever go. He did fly over NY twice back in the day. Close enough.
Hey Wikki, you started the first three page thread we have had for awhile. Good job. Football season can't get here soon enough!
Thanks I am looking forward to the season. Right now I am cheering on the Lancer Baseball team that are looking pretty good right now
I'm beginning to think that the road to the championship has to go through Hanover again. They have sure found a load of talent up there again. When Derick Casey graduated, I didn't think they would have a dominant pitcher this year, but I was wrong.
But anyway, good luck to your Lancers!
