One game, unpostponable, with dunks and blocked shots for all.
That’s what college basketball’s tribute to the United States military on Veterans Day should be.
What started last November as a single-game experiment when North Carolina and Michigan State started off the college basketball season aboard the USS Carl Vinson has turned into a full-blown fiasco.
After the 2011 Carrier Classic ran smoothly, college basketball’s homage to the United States military this season didn’t go entirely as planned. All three games held on aircraft carriers had at least one thing go awry.
The 2012 Carrier Classic couldn’t even compare to last season’s battle between Michigan State and North Carolina — mainly because the game was canceled.
Marquette and Ohio State were slated to play in this season’s Carrier Classic, but never tipped off because of a slippery surface on the deck of the USS Yorktown.
Georgetown and Florida played a sloppy first half aboard the USS Bataan in Jacksonville, Fla., before it was determined the court was too dangerous to continue play. San Diego State and Syracuse had to wait two days to finally play aboard the USS Midway Sunday afternoon in San Diego, Calif.
Nothing is worse than a canceled or postponed sporting event. But such a crisis can be avoided.
There’s a reason basketball is played inside. Unlike football or soccer, the playing surface for basketball players has to be dry or serious injuries could occur.
I can’t blame officials for postponing and canceling the games last week. Player safety has to be the No. 1 priority.
Basketball doesn’t have the same quality outdoors as it does indoors.
Both Syracuse and San Diego State are successful outside shooting teams. With blustery winds aboard the USS Midway, only two of the 22 shots from the long-range found their mark.
The Aztecs shot a dreadful 27 percent from the field.
Basketball on an aircraft carrier seemed to be, and really is, a mind-blowing idea. As with any endeavor, a brilliant idea is only as good as how you carry it out.
With that being said, college basketball aboard aircraft carriers must come to an end. Unfortunately, the Carrier Classic has confirmed it will continue aboard the USS Yorktown in South Carolina next year.
The sentiment is there. The execution? Not so much.
Another venture to honor the armed forces is a much better format. Meet the Armed Forces Classic.
Across the pond in Germany, Michigan State and Connecticut got the experience of a lifetime at Ramstein Air Base, the headquarters for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe. For an entire week, players and coaches from each team experienced aspects of life from U.S. service members living abroad and serving their country.
It was the perfect setup. There was tons of coverage from ESPN and most importantly, it was played inside.
There weren’t any players skidding on wet floors or winds affecting jump shots. Just good, clean American basketball inside a C-5 transport hangar.
The lack of success college basketball has had on aircraft carriers this year is unfortunate because of the unique atmosphere games played in front of military personnel bring to basketball.
While watching Michigan State and Connecticut battle, you didn’t hear any booing or harassing officials. The crowd cheered when both the Huskies and Spartans scored or made a big play.
The service men and women could not have cared less which team ended up with more points. They were just there to enjoy watching basketball in person.
I love to see college basketball honor Veterans Day because of the joy it brings to those serving in the armed forces. It lets them forget, even if only for a few hours, about their job of protecting our country.
College basketball on the decks of U.S. aircraft carriers isn’t the answer. A spectacle of sport like what happened on Ramstein Air Base is.
Make it one game. And make it count.
