Lukewarm Winn

I know it seems like I'm picking on the writers at CNNsi today, and this is really a nitpick too...

Luke Winn's tournament blog today goes around the regions and takes note of the demand for tickets. In Atlanta, he says it's lukewarm, but doesn't really elaborate much. Allow me:

LSU, Duke, Texas, West Virginia are the four teams. One might think that Atlanta would be a good place to draw fans (not too far away, good matchups). Winn admits that the size of the venue might have something to do with the tepid sales, but the real reason is more specific. Three of the four teams have been to Atlanta far too often in recent memory. Duke plays in Atlanta against Georgia Tech every year, often in more than one sport. West Virginia brought their legion of fans to Atlanta for the Sugar Bowl just two and a half months ago. LSU brought their legion of fans to Atlanta twice in the last 4 months: for the SEC Championship against Georgia and for the Peach Bowl against Miami. Texas is the only school of the four without a recent trip to Atlanta, though it is also the farthest away by a pretty sizable margin.

It's kind of bad luck that the same teams have been sent here over and over again. But that's the reason for the lukewarm sales.

I'm kind of defensive about Atlanta today. I don't mean to be. In fact, I didn't think Winn took any shots at the A. Just setting the record straight.