Read Ron Chimelis' column in the
Springfield Republican about the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Here's a glimpse ...
The games were good. The teams were of reasonable caliber.
Yet something was missing from the Hall of Fame Tip-Off basketball tournament. Fans.
The normal next step to the discussion is to criticize the market. Springfield doesn't support anything, right?
Wrong. At least this time.
This poorly-attended tournament was sabotaged when the Hall of Fame could sign only seven Division I teams and not eight, forcing the traditional brackets to be replaced by a confusing schedule of teams in no discernible format.
It was doomed when fans were denied the chance to buy single-game tickets. That probably kept a lot of UMass fans away, and it was the UMass presence that officials were counting on to carry this event.