Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire ” brought to you by Auto Logic, the Logical Choice.
The 2015 Mann Cup-Canadian Major Lacrosse Championship begins tomorrow night in British Columbia with the Victoria Shamrocks hosting the Peterborough Lakers.
The Mann Cup is a rarity in Canadian sports, that is, a best of 7 to determine a National title.
In this day and age, virtually every other championship uses a tournament to decide the champion, which is a good gauge, but not as good as a best of 7.
Sure, the Mann Cup best of 7 isn’t perfect, with either the West or the East having home floor for the duration of the Championship Series.
Which brings me to my next genius idea……
In 2020, would it not be fitting for Owen Sound to host the best of 7 Mann Cup as a memorial for the 1950 Crescents who won the championship 7 decades ago ?
It would be fitting, ……..but likely wouldn’t be feasible.
Would the city be interested in hosting a tournament for a level of competition in which there is no Owen Sound entry ?
Would the Attack be agreeable to having their hockey training camp shifted to the Rec Centre to allow the Mann Cup one week access to the floor at the JD McArthur Arena ?
And most significantly, would anybody attend ?
I think it would be a terrific exercise in sports and city nostalgia, but I doubt it would be a commercial success at the gate, which to a large extent explains why the Mann Cup is staged yearly in one centre and most other championships go to a tournament format.
I’m Fred Wallace