Growing the MCLA - 2008 Championship in Boston

[Thrilla]

This is very frustrating, as a player on a team very likely to make the tourney in dallas for the third straight year I am really not looking forward to make the trip there, just like I wasn't two years before.
1. The heat is awful
2.the location of texas is a concession to the three teams (I think) that made the tourney that are on the east coast in a west heavy leauge
3. the lack of culture and geographical diversity is disgusting. This is a chance for hundreds of young college men to meet anywhere in the country and they choose DALLAS? I know this may seem trivial but would YOU want to go to dallas three years in a row for any reason? As in incoming Junior i got to hear about the mall of america, a cardinals baseball game, what do I get? endless Suburban sprawl and highway after highway after highway.
4. If I have to sacrifice playing in a professional stadium for a few thousand fans lining the entire field i'll take it. I'll walk to denver or san fran.

I know this isn't suppose to be a vacation but as a consistent national tourney attender i am disappointed at the MCLA governing body. I find lack of fields in proximity to a major venue as a weak excuse. My home town of beaverton, OR has THPRD which has a similar number of grass and turf fields as well as the semi-pro Hillsboro stadium less than a mile down the freeway. Hotels nearby for similar events make the area very possible. Why didn't beaverton get picked? Not close enough to the mass. teams? Too small of a youth program? Ah i'm so frustrated right now that its in dallas I had to vent. Maybe i'm wrong. maybe someone out there want to go to dallas.

[Tim Gray]

This is very frustrating, as a player on a team very likely to make the tourney in dallas for the third straight year I am really not looking forward to make the trip there, just like I wasn't two years before.
1. The heat is awful
2.the location of texas is a concession to the three teams (I think) that made the tourney that are on the east coast in a west heavy leauge
3. the lack of culture and geographical diversity is disgusting. This is a chance for hundreds of young college men to meet anywhere in the country and they choose DALLAS? I know this may seem trivial but would YOU want to go to dallas three years in a row for any reason? As in incoming Junior i got to hear about the mall of america, a cardinals baseball game, what do I get? endless Suburban sprawl and highway after highway after highway.
4. If I have to sacrifice playing in a professional stadium for a few thousand fans lining the entire field i'll take it. I'll walk to denver or san fran.

I know this isn't suppose to be a vacation but as a consistent national tourney attender i am disappointed at the MCLA governing body. I find lack of fields in proximity to a major venue as a weak excuse. My home town of beaverton, OR has THPRD which has a similar number of grass and turf fields as well as the semi-pro Hillsboro stadium less than a mile down the freeway. Hotels nearby for similar events make the area very possible. Why didn't beaverton get picked? Not close enough to the mass. teams? Too small of a youth program? Ah i'm so frustrated right now that its in dallas I had to vent. Maybe i'm wrong. maybe someone out there want to go to dallas.

Cities have to apply to host the event. We can't just tell a city we're going to have our tournament there.

[John Paul]

Tim is right. There's a misperception among some that we pick the city based on factors like facilities and central location. Facilities certainly play a huge role, but location, to date, has not been a factor at all. We would jump at the chance to be in a more Western location if the right combination of facilities, cost structure and local organizing committee became available. The local organizing group is the key. Running the tournament is a huge undertaking, and most of the burden, including a large part of the financial burden, falls on local groups. So far we have never received a viable bid from a Western group. When USL was running the event, they sent out bid packages every year to every lacrosse community in the country. The MCLA did not send out bid packages last year (we don't have the chapter network USL does), but we are actively looking at other possibilities. In the meantime, anyone who wants to do it and thinks they can come up with the manpower, facilities and money (it can cost the local group tens of thousands unless they come up with creative ways to cover costs or even turn a profit), should contact Dan Morris, the MCLA Tournament Director, for details.

[Zamboni_Driver]

2.the location of texas is a concession to the three teams (I think) that made the tourney that are on the east coast in a west heavy leauge

First off, I must say you are not doing a good job of representing your program with this post. I believe you guys will go to the tournament next year, and it is OK for me to believe and post that - I have no connection to your team. But you are a returning player to a team that lost its head coach and 55% of its total offense and has an entire season to play. Your post gives the appearance that the oregon program has some arrogance issues and that now that they went to the championship the MCLA league owes you something.

But just to have fun with a portion of your post....Below are the distances in miles from each program that attended the 2007 championships to Dallas and Beaverton.

PROGRAM.............DALLAS......BEAVERTON
BYU…………………………1225……......816
OREGON………………….2236…….....107
COLORADO STATE…933……........1185
MINN-DULUTH…………1142…........1819
COLORADO…………….900……........1275
MICHIGAN………………1177…….......2352
UCSB………………………1532…….......949
LINDENWOOD………...651…….......2034
BOSTON COLLEGE….1753…….....3095
ARIZONA………………….953……......1442
ARIZONA STATE………1060……....1338
SONOMA STATE………1775……......642
NORTHEASTERN………1753……......3095
GEORGIA…………………..854…........2665
FLORIDA…………………...1056……....2956
TEXAS A&M……………….181……......2303

1. The average distance travelled per team is less to Dallas than Beaverton
2. BC, Northeastern, Georgia, Florida benefit (4 east coast teams) but also so does Texas A&M, Lindenwood, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Michigan, Minn-Duluth - I'm not too sure but I think the last 8 are not considered the east coast...maybe we need Miss Teen South Carolina and her maps to help us out.

[cjwilhelmi]

Things to do in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area:

1) Six Flags over Texas
2) Texas Rangers Baseball game
3) West End
4) Fort Worth Stockyards

That is just taking five seconds to list some stuff. There is an absolute ton to do in the D/FW area.

[Pinball]

i got to hear about the mall of america,

I wonder if they told you about the 35 degree weather and the sleet/snow mixture that happened during tournament weekend in Blaine. One of the more miserable lacrosse playing experiences i have ever had. I was born and raised in MN, went to college and still live here and i realize that the weather is too crazy that time of the year to have the tourney in the north.

[bbandlax]

This is very frustrating, as a player on a team very likely to make the tourney in dallas for the third straight year I am really not looking forward to make the trip there, just like I wasn't two years before.
1. The heat is awful
2.the location of texas is a concession to the three teams (I think) that made the tourney that are on the east coast in a west heavy leauge
3. the lack of culture and geographical diversity is disgusting. This is a chance for hundreds of young college men to meet anywhere in the country and they choose DALLAS? I know this may seem trivial but would YOU want to go to dallas three years in a row for any reason? As in incoming Junior i got to hear about the mall of america, a cardinals baseball game, what do I get? endless Suburban sprawl and highway after highway after highway.
4. If I have to sacrifice playing in a professional stadium for a few thousand fans lining the entire field i'll take it. I'll walk to denver or san fran.

I know this isn't suppose to be a vacation but as a consistent national tourney attender i am disappointed at the MCLA governing body. I find lack of fields in proximity to a major venue as a weak excuse. My home town of beaverton, OR has THPRD which has a similar number of grass and turf fields as well as the semi-pro Hillsboro stadium less than a mile down the freeway. Hotels nearby for similar events make the area very possible. Why didn't beaverton get picked? Not close enough to the mass. teams? Too small of a youth program? Ah i'm so frustrated right now that its in dallas I had to vent. Maybe i'm wrong. maybe someone out there want to go to dallas.

After reading this I began lamenting D-Trains retirement (as a side note he retires more than a heavy weight boxer). I would enjoy the verbal assault he would lay down on Mr. Thrilla. I on the other hand will try and stay away from anything mean spirited. I don't think any of his points are necessarily invalid. He just needs a little perspective. After 7 years in the Lou we were all tired to the chaotic unpredictable weather. A couple of years in St. Louis the weather was much more humid with the same temperatures as Dallas. Add in torrential rains, tornado warnings, etc. there were time just finishing the tournament was in question. Sure, there are a few things to do in St. Louis, but vacation Nirvana it is not (how many times can one see the big metal arch or the Yack at Grants Farm). And its not as though Blaine was a tourist utopia. Unless your a 15 year old girl the Mall of America is not a vacation mecca. I mean come on, its a mall, a really big mall, but a mall non the less. Mr. Thrilla, the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. I think Denver and San Fran would be great, but they have to choose to host it. If you have any connections please get them in touch with the BOD.

I am not saying Pizza Hut Park is the perfect venue or Dallas the perfect location. However this past tournament was by far the best we have had in 11 years. For those teams and fans who were there for lacrosse it was far better than any tournament thus far. If atmosphere and culture are what you are looking for I suggest trying chess, they play at some beautiful beach side locations all around the world.

[BigheadTodd]

Besides frisco, what other cities put in a bid? Of those, how many were acceptable?

[Pinball]

dutch harbor, alaska did

[Timbalaned]

Thrill quit runnin your mouth and work on your shot. Dallas was tight last year. I was on teams in both St. Louis and Minny and you didnt miss much big guy. Like what a lot of the other guys have said, I think it could be awesome in San Diego or Denver, but it has to be reasonable and they have to want to host.

[Thrilla]

my sincere apologies guys, I'm thoroughly embarrassed at my own post. I had no idea all that goes into planning such a big event, I guess it was just wishful thinking to play in a more exotic destination than texas or closer to home where my family could watch me play. Again i'm embarrassed at my own ignorance, I know a lot of un-thanked work goes into everything the MCLA does and I made a jerk out of myself by whining about playing in the same state again. I am not apologizing for writing that its likely the Ducks will make the tourney this year, I regret not conveying it in more of an opinion tone. I have the up most confidence in my team and especially my new coach, although we will miss Joe significantly, in making the national tournament again, no disrespect intended to any team. No body owes us anything, we owe it to ourselves and our alumni to maintain the work ethic that has allowed us to play in such an elite tournament. My respect goes out to those who take this forum seriously and take the time to monitor thoughtless posts, haha especially you Zamboni Driver, geography was never my strong subject, boy did I feel like an jerk when I read your response. To Timbalaned, you can tell me to work on my shot when you know more about lacrosse than your youth kids. Tell me you thought it was tight when we played Zona in Texas two years ago in that 105 heat. Think, if the tourney was in San Fran you could get a real job and still work the games! Ha ha Brauck I miss you bud, see you soon for that alumni game.

[Zamboni_Driver]

Thrilla - it takes a big man to come back on here and make that second post. Good luck this year!

[GeorgiaLacrosse]

So the tournament for 2008 MCLA championships is in Dallas but have the dates been announced?

[Sonny]

So the tournament for 2008 MCLA championships is in Dallas but have the dates been announced?

The FAQ's are a handy read:
http://www.collegelax.us/faq.php

[CAscubalaxin]

umm location is a bit far from mcla schools but i think it would draw some crowds of high schoolers if advertised right. Venue looks really good but again kinda far and i was at Pizza Hut Park and overall the tournament wasn't that bad

http://goldengoallacrosse.com/index.php