When you live in Connecticut you're accustomed to getting low rank sporting events. The state has proven that it can't handle a professional team. However, even the lower level teams and events move out of this state because there isn't enough support or interest.
One of the latest examples of this is the tournament formerly known as the Pilot Pen will now only feature women's players. There will not be a men's tournament anymore.
The Pilot Pen would never be confused with the U.S. Open or another big tournament but it fit Connecticut perfectly. Connecticut couldn't support a big tournament of course and it's losing a big part of even the small tournament it had.
This should remind you of the minor league baseball situation in Norwich. You might remember that Norwich had a Double-A ball club. Very low attendance turned out for those games and now Single-A players take the field. Norwich couldn't even hold onto a Double-A team. How would they get excited about a Single-A team?
The Pilot Pen was always good about attracting top women's players to their tournament. On the men's side they didn't get the highest ranked guys. However, to lose the men's side will be very damaging. James Blake, a hometown favorite, was always up to play and gave the crowd what they wanted to see. Fernando Verdasco, Robby Ginepri, and Sam Querrey also played in recent years.
What was great about the Pilot Pen was you could get up close to talented players. It was cheap entertainment and you would have had to fork over a lot more money to see these players up close at the U.S. Open.
Also, to see these players in a different field was great. For example, Ginepri was a former top player. When he was at the Pilot Pen he had fallen. He was still a great talent but at the U.S. Open he would have been dominated. The Pilot Pen gave chances to athletic guys who could no longer play against the elites in the sport.
Also, because the Pilot Pen was played right before the U.S. Open you could learn about the players coming up who might be a challenge and surprise a lot of people. Verdasco and Querrey were both examples of this.
All of this points to a truth that many could not accept at the time: The New England Patriots made their best decision ever by not coming to Connecticut.
Comments
Dude. Have you ever gone to the men's tournament? It was incredibly dull. The big names all play Cincinnati and skip New Haven, because it's too close to the Open and interferes with practice. The news is that the women's tournament has been saved.
Same with Norwich. The Defenders moved because they had an opportunity to play in Richmond, Va., which is about 15 times the size of Norwich. But the city was still able to salvage a baseball team.
You need to get a grip. Or maybe be a sportswriter for Fox Noise. All-negative all the time.
Thanks for the comment. I think you made two good points. First, being so close to the U.S. Open is hard and made it difficult to get top male players. Second, at least the women's tournament was saved. However, on that second point you are wrong that it is fine to lose the men's tournament. If you lose one tournament you shouldn't be fine with it. Maybe that is the problem. The expectations of CT residents is so low. I don't think I'm being negative. I'm actually being positive because I have higher expectations. I don't just like salvaging something. I also have to question you on the men's tournament being lame. There are many more people interested in men's sports than women's sports so how can you be fine with the men leaving? There have been some big time players on the men's side. Who really gets that excited about a women's tournament anyway? It's funny that you say I should be on "Fox Noise." I'm actually the furthest person from being a conservative. However, it seems like you are in a way as you are content with the way everything is. It's like these people who make $15,000 a year and vote republican because they are happy with their life. Like you, they might not have high hopes.
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