I'm not sure why NWSL wants so badly to keep the NC venue. Is this a financial burden? Or are there no leaders period? Nobody is going to buy tickets to see a match in the rain and wind even if Florence is merely a tropical storm by then. Why is it so difficult to just find a nearby neutral field for them to play on? I'm pretty sure the players really don't want to be playing an important playoff match in the middle of a hurricane.
What? They're not playing Friday afternoon in Wilmington. The weather here Sunday will possibly be better than it was for the Orlando game last month that got suspended and continued the next morning. And the wind in this area will be nothing compared to what people from the Windy City are used to on a regular basis.
Am I the only one that remembers the U.S. Open Cup semifinal doubleheader that was played at the Virginia Soccerplex as Hurricane Bonnie was bearing down on Chesapeake Bay?
Stop with the melodrama. They're not going to be playing in a hurricane. It might still be raining, it might not. If there's lightning, the match will be delayed; same as any other game. If the referee rules the field unplayable for some reason (e.g. standing water), the match will be delayed. Again, same as any other game. And NC shouldn't have their home field advantage that they won based on regular season play taken away from them. If they want to move it to Nashville or something, then fine. If they want to move it to Portland, then fine. But NC should have the final say. Its their home field advantage that they earned.
I'll add that the biggest issue for keeping the game in NC on Sunday is probably not going to be the weather (subject to change, of course). Its the travel for Chicago prior to the game (Southwest has just cancelled all flights in and out of RDU on Thursday and Friday).
Correct. Air travel will be the main issue. If RDU is closed on Saturday, then a game on Sunday becomes problematic. Of course it works in reverse, too. If Chicago can't get in, then at this point the Courage can't get out. I suspect - with no inside knowledge, and as someone who has to work the game I've asked - that we're playing in Cary. If not Sunday than possibly Monday. Or, if conditions are bad, the airport should be open which would allow the Courage to travel out. Having lived through Hugo and Fran here, Florences current track is weaker and farther away from us than Hugo. Due to the winds and the saturated ground with trees that haven't been through a storm like this in a while, there will be a lot of limbs and not a small number of trees down. There will be spot to moderately widespread power outages tonight through tomorrow night. But I suspect most of the area will be back to normal, other than cleaning up debris in their yards, by Sunday with some unlucky neighborhoods still waiting for power. If you'd asked me Tuesday, I'd have said there was no way they could play this weekend. Now? I would expect Sunday should be fine for the game. YMMV. Personally? I fully expect to lose power. If not overnight tonight, then at some time tomorrow. There are just too many trees and too many power lines around my neighborhood. Given priorities locally, and the fact that most of the power trucks will be headed south to where the heavy damage is, I also suspect I may not get power at my house until Monday or Tuesday. It's also possible that I never lose power. I guess I'm about to find out!
The Greensboro airport plans to stay open during the hurricane -- and there are half a dozen non-stop flights daily from Chicago. It's 90 minutes from Greensboro to the field in Raleigh. Maybe the Red Stars could overnight in Greensboro, practice on some fields here (many good fields), and bus over to Raleigh on the day of the game.
Right. That's my whole point. Agree NC has the right to host a home playoff game they earned, but not right to make Chicago get there any way possible in bad/chaotic conditions just to get the game in by let's say Sunday or Monday. It's not just RDU affected by this storm but other airports as well such as Chicago's O'hare and Midway, as they will be rescheduling flights to the east coast that have been cancelled due to the Hurricane. No guarantee that Red stars will be able to arrive in NC with practice time and rest to be able to play this game on Sunday or Monday. So to accommodate NC being able to play in front of their fans, you are putting the Red Stars under duress to get there, find available hotel rooms, transportation, restaurants to eat, etc on one day notice. Is that fair?
I just wish Rory Dames -- someone who has always been terrific and professional in every respect imaginable -- would quit pretending a pilot in 2018 is going to fly all willy-nilly into a hurricane zone and it's up to passengers to decide whether they're going to take the risk. I still vote for Atlanta. Or, now that they've waited so long and can see the storm might complicate travel through SC, then go north to Richmond. I see NO reason why this game should be played in Chicago or Portland.
It's not just about the flight to NC, although getting out of Ohare and Midway may not be easy after the Hurricane because they will be trying to reschedule flights and passengers that were cancelled during the Hurricane. Hotel availability, buses/transportation availability, time to rest and practice before the game, all on short notice. All that matters for a fair competition. Some people are expecting Chicago to just fly there and be ready to play on short notice under duress without any regard for them. Just for the sake of giving NC a home-field advantage. So now not only does NC have home-field advantage but their opponent is put into a disadvantage. It's all about North Carolina, no one seems to care about how Chicago will be impacted. Do you think Courage fans will drive to Atlanta en masse to see this game a day or so after dealing with a huge Storm in their home town? To me playing in Atlanta is the same as playing in Portland and Portland maybe better as one of the teams will have gotten used to the field/surroundings before the Final.
I see the opposite. I see Rory Dames on Twitter griping about drainage at WakeMed, and I see him talking about his players being better judges of flight safety than airlines that haven't had a non-terrorist-related crash in decades. And I see a ton of people swallowing it hook, line and sinker, and saying the game should be played in Chicago. Even though now we're talking about the Courage not being able to fly out of their home airport. And I see people refusing to discuss neutral sites for reasons I simply don't understand. The storm has tracked south, and now it might be raining in Atlanta on Sunday and clear in Richmond? Great! Cary to Richmond is a pretty easy drive. Go for it. But a lot of WoSo fans are refusing to entertain the prospect of any venue other than Chicago or Portland. Why is that?
Again, it's not just about the flight and Portland is a "neutral site". http://backlinesoccer.com/while-the...-watch-rory-dames-says-what-were-all-thinking
Holy crap. Do you follow the league, or any league of professional teams? They travel under duress all of the time. Weather constantly ********s with travel. Players miss flights, connections are missed. Games are started half an hour late because a team is racing in from the airport - when they expected to get in the night before. This isn't some weird, random, unprecedented thing. RDU should be operating normally on Saturday. As the storm has weakened and tracked south, most of the business I stopped by today said they planned to operate normal hours through the weekend unless they lose power. Raleigh-Durham is getting hit with a heavy storm tonight and on Friday. We'll probably get some rain on Saturday and Sunday. That's pretty much "July" around here.
Andy, I'm not the only one in Chicago that feels this way about this. Rory has stated similar, Sandra Herrera a sports blogger in Chicago has similar thoughts and others. https://twitter.com/sandherrera_?lang=en I know you are a "Triangle" guy and you don't give a crap about Chicago, but I do and I don't want my team flying down there and playing under duress or strain. As a ten year Red Stars Season Ticket Holder, just want it all to be safe and fair, that's all If you're going to insult me than please don't respond and I won't respond to you any more.
Well, here we go: Portland it is: http://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/arti...to-be-played-tuesday-night-at-providence-park
This was my suggestion all along. Move it to Portland and the winning team can stay out there for the championship.
Many were saying that. I do feel bad for NC fans who earned the right to watch their team play a Semi in front of them. But that went out the window a couple of days ago when the path of the Hurricane was verified. If it happened to the Red stars, I would be pissed right now, but would understand the move.
Well, people have routinely been saying that the playoffs go by too quickly and that the final doesn't fell like enough of an "event"... Well, now the final has not one but both semifinals in the exact same stadium in the preceding 7 days. X-D A full week of NWSL in Portland!
Tickets already are on sale for the game, $10 per seat, all general admission. Here's the text of a Paulson tweet about it: Not our choice/desire to host this event but the league needed a venue other than Chi after trying to get certainty around a NC game. All tickets proceeds after our cost will go back to league and coming out for this game very much helps NWSL and WoSo. Not an ideal situation If I understand this correctly, the Thorns are footing the stadium costs for the game (essentially, personnel and similar costs). If the ticket proceeds don't cover the cost, the Thorns absorb it. If the proceeds exceed the cost, the surplus goes to the league. I don't know how travel costs for the teams will be handled. This is a shame for the Courage fans as well as for the team and the NWSL, as Courage fan support has been building and has become great. But, of alternatives for non-home game sites, with Chicago probably rightly not in the running as a matter of fairness, this probably is the most practical economically viable decision. I hope some Red Stars and Courage fans can get out here. And I really hope that WoSo fans here in Portland show up in very big numbers to make noise for these players. I already have my tickets.
If attendance is decent, don't be surprised if all playoff games are hosted in Portland from the outset next season...
Agree. All fairness this is the best possible outcome. I don't see it as unfair to play on Tuesday only 4 days till the Final. I see it as the winning team of this semi will get the feel of the field/venue just before the Final and it may be advantageous for that team.