Saturday, August 21, 2004
Knocked Out?
Chrise Chase lets it rip, strongly criticizing the ACC for expanding and eliminating the conference's famed double round robin system.What I want to know is whether expansion will undermine the conference's vaunted reputation. As Chris notes, Wake Forest-Miami won't have the allure of Wake Forest-UNC, Maryland-Virginia Tech won't have the cachet of Maryland-Virginia, and Georgia Tech-Boston College won't rival Georgia Tech-Duke. Over several years time, diluted rivalries could dilute the ACC's strength.
The double round robin system is not sufficient for conference teams to develop exciting rivalries (witness the Pac-10), but it may be necessary (extreme examples, UNC-Duke for one, aside). Only time will tell.
