Volunteer87

Proper seeding matters since it determines who your opponent is, not just your rung. It also determines the home team and also affects attendance. A Knoxville area team should be playing in Quad 2 instead of an upper east Tennessee team. How many fans will not be traveling 300 miles one-way on Friday that would have traveled 100 miles one-way? The home field will be more of an advantage than it normally would be. It is not fair to the players and it is not fair to the fans. If the TSSAA does not want to following its seeding guidelines at ALL times then they should scrap them. If proper seeding does not matter, how about basing the seeding on geography alone, like giving the #1 seed in Quad 1 to the easternmost team in the state and #8 to the next easternmost team. That would minimize travel. But would that be fair if that #8 seed was 9-1 and had to travel and the #1 seed was 5-5? If proper seeding is important to begin with, then is it not just as important after they learned of their first mistake? Either proper seeding matters all the time or it doesn't.

Besides South, there are other teams in 5A not playing where they should be playing on Friday night because the TSSAA chose not to re-seed the brackets to what they should have been had the first mistake not been made. But they made a second mistake and have ended up affecting more than just one game.

Yep, the TSSAA should have correctly seeded Quads 1 & 2 instead of trying to cause the least disruptions. They compounded their second mistake even more than we realized. mjuhb, can you post what the brackets should have looked like?

TSSAA should have corrected their mistake by following the original "Setting the Quadrants" guidelines: 1.) Try to keep teams in their natural quadrants [Quad 1: Districts 1-4, Quad 2:Districts 5-8, Quad 3: District 9-12, & Quad 4: Districts 13-16]; 2.) Do not move a team more than one natural quadrant; 3.) Take into account historical grouping, & 4.) Minimize travel time. The last thing one should do when correcting a mistake is to make another mistake, which I think has happened. They have violated 3 of the 4 (1,3, & 4) of their guidelines, which is a majority. If they do not want to follow these guidelines then change them or delete them. They already allow more than geography to come into play in setting the quadrants since Anderson County appears to be further from the Quad 2 teams than Powell, Knox West, Knox Central, & South Doyle but they do not mention this in their guidelines. I realize the least interruption aspect of their solution but it is best to do the right thing as soon as you can.

With the same district record you next look at head-to-head. Morristown West defeated Jefferson County so M'west is the runnerup.

If District 5 correct? If Bradley Central loses, Cleveland wins, and Ooltewah wins, would there be a three-way tie for district runner-up with a 4-2 district record? If so, there is no clear head-to-head winner since Bradley Central did not defeat both Cleveland and Ooeltwah, Cleveland did not defeat both Ooltewah and Bradley Central, and Ooeltwah did not defeat both Bradley Central and Cleveland. Then the first tie-breaker is overall wins and Ooeltwah would have 7 wins while Bradley Central and Cleveland would only have 6 wins. Would that not make Ooeltwah the district runner-up?

With this being a TV game, what time is the actual kickoff? I have missed the start of the last two Thursday night games but know that they typically end about 10:15 pm.

I was not making excuses for the football team losing because of the band, PA announcer, horn, lights, etc. Obviously Columbia played better Friday night. I was trying to point out that the band was there when others said they were not. Yes, some band members were absent. But the band played pep tunes from the stands just like they always do so there was no lack of pep tunes. But even the pep tunes could not get the majority of the Tullahoma fans excited, although T-shirts and small footballs seemed to so maybe we should invest more in those. The band did not perform on the field at halftime but the football team is in the locker room so that should have no effect. Yes, I would have preferred the full band in uniform performing at halftime but they are not required for a football game; only the teams, coaches, and officials. Everything else (bands, PA announcer, concession stands, fans, cheerleaders, mascots, etc.) just adds to the atmosphere. I am sure some of us have been to games with only a few fans in attendance. The band member’s first dedication is to the band because that is his/her activity. Their participation at a football game is a supporting role. The football player’s dedication is to the football team. So what if some of the best Columbia football players have another activity, in a supporting role, scheduled on this Friday morning or afternoon. Wouldn’t you want them to skip it so that they are fresh for their primary role on Friday night in the semi-final game? What if you are just a fan and not a football player? What if you are an alumnus of Columbia Central and the University of Alabama (possibly a season ticket holder) or Auburn University? Do attend the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa Friday afternoon or the semi-final game in Columbia Friday night? One thing I have learned is that there will always be scheduling conflicts and you have to make decisions. So I cannot fault the band members who chose to be at their best for their competition. I am not sure how many followed onpoint's post in this thread with a link to the results from the mid-state competition. Tullahoma had twice as many students make the mid-state band as the next closest high school and more that made the all-state band. I am not sure how many football players, in a supporting role, were there to see the band members depart the high school on Saturday morning or were there to congratulate them when they returned Saturday night. The speaker on the visitor's side closest to the visitor locker room is way too loud in my opinion, unless there are no speakers on the home side and the sound has to travel across the field. I have been to all 13 Tullahoma games this year and the game at Columbia was the only time I found the speakers too loud and the PA announcer annoying. But the annoying part may have not been as noticeable if not for the volume. I think the cheer leading should be done by the cheerleaders (isn't that their role?), music played by the band (not recorded music on the speakers), the fans to do the yelling in support of their team (not the PA announcer), and the reporting of the action on the field by the PA announcer. But maybe I am wrong. I did not notice the horn as much since it was on the other end of the field. As far as the stadium lights, there is no way that a fan should be able to disable the lights either intentionally or accidentally. For this to happen a second time should have implications for those responsible, as this is not simply a matter of being a game delay but a safety and security issue. That showed the stadium staff did not have "control" of the situation. TSSAA requires "a restraining fence around the field or a stadium configuration that allows for control of spectator access to playing area" with the key word being "Control". The delay to the game is minor in comparison to the potential safety and security implications of the lights going off. I am sure the TSSAA would be interested to make sure it does not happen a third time on Friday night. Go luck to the Columbia Lions on Friday as they represent District 8AAA in the semi-finals!

Way to go Tullahoma!

I hope that the caretakers of Columbia's stadium have learned their lessons and keep the switch to the entire visitor side lights locked to prevent intentional or accidental deactivation for a third time. It happened Friday night in the Tullahoma game and at least one other time in a prior game. Once the lights are turned off they have to cool about 15 minutes before coming back on. I also hope that they lower the volume to the visitor's side speakers for the PA announcer. That is probably why the lights went off because someone may have thought the switch controlled the speaker after the PA announcer was yelling when Tullahoma had the ball. There is no reason the volume needs to be that high. I hope the PA announcer will no longer take advantage of his ability to yell while the opposing team is on offense and trying to run a play.

Congratulations to the Tullahoma High School Band and the number that made mid-State and All State. I was correct in assuming, based on the PA announcer's reaction, that the lights had been turned off in prior game. http://columbiadailyherald.com/articles/2010/11/20/sports//01lions.txt states this was the second time that the lights had been turned off in a game. Obviously those in charge of the stadium did not learn from that first time so here is hoping that they learn from the second incident and keep a lock on the switch at all times. Granted the person should not have pulled the switch but the switch should not be able to be activated by anybody that walks by. I wonder where the controls to the sprinklers are?

After watching the Tennessee-Vanderbilt game I turned to watch the final four minutes of the Nebraska-Texas A&M game. Now that is what a real home field advantage is about as the Home of the 12th man was rocking! No artificial noise makers required.

I initially was trying to set the record straight that the band was indeed there, contrary to radio reports that may have stated otherwise. Shiny brass instruments should have been easily seen (except when all the stadium lights on the visitor’s side turned off) and heard as they played from the stands. I will have to disagree with "... the band was not there to support the team." In addition to those that were excused because they have mid-state auditions this morning (which is annual event for all middle Tennessee high schools and cannot be rescheduled like a single basketball game between two teams) there was about a dozen that had another event on Friday in Cookeville and did not get back to Tullahoma until about 7:00 pm. The band could have taken the stance that since some of the members could not be there (not a full team) the band would not go at all. Instead they chose to send all they could and not perform at halftime with people missing (imagine the football team missing someone from the offensive line and see how the plays would work out). They were not in uniform because they would not be performing on the field and also since they would not have to get out of uniform after the game it would speed their return to Tullahoma for those that were also going to mid-state early the next morning. To not go to the game would have been cheaper (we took 3 buses and a vehicle with trailer for instruments (side note: The pep bus joined our caravan on the way back!)), safer (thankful the deer in Lewisburg decided to just stay on the shoulder of the road until all the buses passed although there were other road kill like skunks in the road), and easier (especially for the adult chaperons and bus drivers that used vacation time to leave work early). The band could have got back even earlier if they had decided to leave in the third quarter as some of the "fans" did. If this had been a home game (it would have been if the Siegel Hail Mary pass had fallen to the ground or later if Shane Hagen had not been falsely flagged for offensive pass interference in overtime) then the full band would probably have been in attendance. Yes I enjoy football! I don't expect fans to stand but when the other team has a third or fourth down play and our team desperately needs a stop to get the ball back being down by multiple scores and the clock ticking away I would hope that the fans would show a little interest, not that the team needs it for their self esteem. The fans seemed to be more interested in rolled up T-shirts and tiny plastic footballs tossed from the cheerleaders, so maybe that is what the 100-mile round trip was for. I will never understand those that leave early. I go to see the game, the entire game, win or lose. Forget the traffic. Last years victory over Franklin County in the final minutes was fantastic. Who could forget Matt Carter’s onside kick bouncing straight back off the Franklin County player. I was hoping this year’s team would go further, especially for seniors like Shane Hagen who you could tell was playing in pain last night. But Columbia showed they are a good balanced team also and was the better team last night. I will cheer for them to win it all after coming up one victory short last year. I might even go to Columbia Friday night to see the Knox West clash. I moved to Tullahoma in 1987 so I recall that team’s playoff push and was hoping this was Tullahoma’s year. I will definitely be following the football team closely the next two years since I have a sophomore in the band. Sometimes I miss the live action due to helping with band stuff. I replay the games on the DVR and use the pause feature a lot to review key plays. Something that really irks me is a football field without a 25 second play clock. I think it should be mandatory for all fields just like the game clock. (Speaking of game clocks, who can forget the long last "two minutes" of the Lincoln County game after a clock malfunction?) The TSSAA has other rules for facilities to host a playoff game and a play clock should be one. I did not like the Columbia PA announcer constantly blaring from the speakers on the visitor’s side, especially when Tullahoma had the ball and using that as an artificial noise maker for the home team and home field advantage. I think that is why the lights went out. Someone must have saw that switch on the pole and pulled it. The PA announcer then said that switch did not control the speaker. So it was obvious that that had happened before. They should at least be required to lower its volume.

The band was there, did you not hear them or see them? They were seated on the end of the field closest to the Wildcats locker room. They were not in uniform and did not perform on the field at halftime since many members were absent due to Mid State Auditions tomorrow morning in Nashville. The band was not just freshmen. I had a senior and a sophomore there. And they played a lot of songs throughout the game. I just got in from driving one of the buses and just had to respond. And I stood most of the game and cheered, trying to make noise when THS was on defense, like many of the other band boosters around me and unlike most of the so-called fans who just sat there. I am not referring to the student section which stood on the opposite end of the field. Many of the so-called THS fans in the middle sections remained seated and only got up to try to catch a T-shirt or football that the cheerleaders were throwing when it looked like they would not have any other reason to throw them. They did stand after the each of the Wildcats scores but promptly sat back down when THS went on defense. And I saw many headed to the exits early and I wonder why they even bothered to make the drive over there? When the team is down is when they need the crowd support. The band's performance agreement only covered the first two rounds of the playoffs so it may need to be revisited. But this is the first time in 23 years that it has been needed. So the band did support the football team tonight but I can't really say the majority of those on the visitors side really did.