Sports column: I liked going, sitting all day watching hoops

I am still not a fan of the new finals format.
This is the third season of six sessions of finals used by the Arkansas Activities Association.
Gone are the days of showing up and watching the finals — all of the finals.
Even before I was a sports writer, Becky and I would get a room at the Crowne Plaza in west Little Rock. We would journey to Pine Bluff to the convention center there. We would watch championship games and leave Crime Bluff in time to make it to Tia's Mexican Restaurant before they closed for the night.
We would sleep in Saturday and head back to the Bluff and watch games that day before returning back to the hotel. We would leave out on Sunday.
We were not the only ones from this area to do that. Year-after-year a group of coaches and fans would sit in the same section and watch basketball. There would be about 30 of us that showed up every year.
We took that tradition to Hot Springs, but the AAA put an end to that.
I do understand the logic behind some of it. There were players that brought hundreds..no thousands to the stands to watch them play in the finals.
The Hot Springs fire department closed entry into the arena to watch games on several occassions.
There are truthful stories of parents that could not get into the arena to watch their child play because of fans showing three games early to get a good seat for the "big game."
Now if a fan wants to watch more games, then a $10 ticket must be purchased for each session.

When tickets come online, skip Class 3A and down. Those tickets will be there later.
Determine which game is going to be the biggest draw and get those tickets first.
Was Corless Williamson's son a big draw in 4A?
Was it the Division I signees in 5A or 6A?
Whatever the case, the days of people enjoying a day of basketball together are over.
Just like Razorback football or basketball, do you need to drive all that way, fight the crowd and get taken for concessions?
Every game on the first day of the finals were double digit wins this year. Only the Bergman boys' game was not determined in the first period.
PBS has those games live on television. Sit in the living room, watch the game on a 75 inch screen.
Use the restroom without 10 other people in there with you. For the price of popcorn and two drinks, you can have Brick Oven pizza along with a quality slurpee.
I don't have to cover any more games there this year. I will now be fighting the grandsons for which PBS channel to watch.

Jeff Brasel is the sports and managing editor of the Newton County Times. E-mail him at jeffb@harrisondaily.com or follow him at twitter.com/jeffbrasel.