My major question at this point is what difference does it make WHERE State is? It's the State tournament for crying out loud!

In my four years in Immaculata we had the 500-mile round trip every year to go to Hays. Didn't matter to me or my kids, it's the State tournament. We were just excited to go. If it were being held in Leavenworth or Elkhart it wouldn't matter.

Kansas has a disadvantage a lot of other states don't have. Colorado has the Pepsi Center in Denver, Iowa has Vets Auditorium in Des Moines, Missouri has the Hearns Center. What do these three venues have in common? They are all large (15,000 seats or better) facilities that are fan and wrestling friendly, located in pretty much the dead center of the state. We don't have that in Kansas, thus the constant discussion.

What we do have are two nice medium-sized arenas. The Expocenter is a great facility and so is the arena in Wichita. Both are adequate for the event and both cities have plenty of hotel space to accommidate everyone. Which ever one is picked, what matters is not the area code, it's what's on the mat.