HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2703
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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03-14-22 04:00 PM - Post#339177
In response to palestra38
We definitely disagree.
Back in 2018 I reported here that it seemed like over 80% of fans for the final were from Penn. It was actually likely higher. I noted that the student section was full on that Sunday, but not Saturday, as Penn's spring break was ending.
My family has attended all previous tournaments. The Palestra and Philly was not a destination and isn't a destination for most fans. This is not a knock on your Cathedral, although the mere thought that, all things being equal, fans would watch the same game at Philly/Palestra but not Boston/Lavietes is exemplifies hubris.
It's all about the location/distance, not the arena. We attend games at the Palestra the same way we do Jadwin and Levien. If Harvard is playing and the location is convenient we try and go. That's why we don't travel to away games at Cornell and Dartmouth, and likely explains the disappointing attendance at Lavietes by fans of the participants. In 2019, Yale had a strong majority of fans for that final, likely for the same exact reason. For anyone north of NYC, the Palestra is as inconvenient to them as Hanover is to Philly natives.
You are missing the obvious confirmation this weekend provided. Penn fans didn't go to Lavietes on Saturday, and not enough Yale and Princeton fans traveled on Sunday. How is that Harvard's fault? It's the largely anti-climactic nature of the tournament. If the game had been at the Palestra but not included Penn or nearby Princeton, that venue would have likely drawn a similar crowd.
As this was the first year without a host participant, what we learned this year is that Ivy fans generally don't travel far for this particular event. The arena is irrelevant.
The example of Havard vs Yale in a single game playoff at the Palestra supports my view. Same with Harvard vs Princeton at Yale. Fans do travel for the rare single game playoff. Possibly, the uncertainty of surviving the semifinal is a negative. Alternatively, the redundancy and recent vintage of the tournament works against it.
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