Often times the two teams left playing for the upper state championship are Number 1 seeds from two different regions. I think the home team should not be determined by "the bracket", the match should be played at a neutral site.

For the upper state, I would offer Winthrop or Presbyterian.

I hope that eventually the lower state starts experiencing this dilemma.

Thoughts?

Hurst --

You're working it too hard. West Ashley played every playoff game as visitor 3 years ago on their way to the state championship. Wando beat WA in WA last year to clinch the lower state title. It really doesn't matter, the better team will win.

lpaf

lpaf,

The thing you're forgetting here is that with home field advantage, FM would have no excuse for losing in the semis. Don't deny them that.

Hurst, I'm sure that Winthrop & PC appreciate you offering their soccer stadiums for the upper state championship. The good thing about Winthrop is its close proximity to Fort Mill. The Lady Jackets could sell tickets, concessions and programs while Mauldin and Lexington play for the title.

(That oughta get him) ;-)

lpaf,
Your quarter-final and semi-final may be "on the road", but you don't even have to leave your region to play it! It's no fun hopping in the car and driving 2 hours southwest to play on another #1 seed's home turf.

Foxy,
I didn't say the road would be easy. Mauldin and Lex will provide tough challenges (as long as Lex can keep telling themselves "we were missing 4 starters when we got manhandled at Taco Cup".

h66 --

Now you're sounding whiney. Whose fault is it that Fort Mill isn't close to any other powerhouses? It is lonely at the top. Have you considered moving the town?

lpaf

I can't believe I put the sideways smiley thing there... If I do it again take me out and shoot me.

lpaf

Lexington wasn't missing any starters in the Taco Cup. Fort Mill is way too good for Lexington. It should be a free and easy trip to the finals for the Yellow Jackets. There isn't anyone in the way that could provide even token resistance. All Fort Mill has to do is just show up, especially since all of their games will be at home. Now, it's only a matter of who they will face in Columbia. Yawn...yawn.

lpaf-

You are just showing your sweet feminine side...smile away!

lpaf, get back in the closet!

deahl, you're changing your tune!

I step away for 45 minutes and this is what I miss?!?! Hurst vs George Michaels vs Lou Holtz?

Hurst66,

What tune? Show me the post!!! Lexington had a full eleven starters on the field against Fort Mill in the Taco Cup.

That would be George Michael (singular) if you are referring to who I think you are (lpaf).

With an alias like "laplageauxfolles" don't you live in a world of smileys, or "la plage de bonheur"!

deahler's not changing his tune, just living in lpaf's world for awhile: "You're great. We stink. Thanks for letting us play in the same state as you."

"Lexington will probably not give Fort Mill much of a fit as four starters will be missing! I'm not making excuses, just trying to explain the road ahead..."

Sound familiar? Feb 19, 12:15 AM, Taco Results

Sound familiar?

H66 --

Just what do you mean by that? I resemble that remark.

lpaf

Hurst66,

That was someone who looks a lot like me...definitely not me!!!

How about your pal LF? Does this one look familiar?

"Lets not forget Lex beat BC 4-3 in regulation to also go 2-1. One has to wonder what might have happened if Lex had it's 4 missing starters for today's 2 games. Overall a very good effort and showing by Lex in a very talented grouping. This should be a fun season for Lex. Maybe we will see FM again in the playoffs............."

Hurst66,

LF doesn't really exist. It is a computer down at the library that just generates random posts. Where in the world do you get this information? I'm telling you no one can stand up to the mighty force that is FORT MILL! The whole upstate is genuflecting in the direction of the old PTL Club.

I got to give you props Deahls, you even knew it back then. Remember this one?

"Having watched most of the games in Group C, I will tell you that with the exception of the Fort Mill/Lexington game, they were all very exciting contests."

Of course, we both know that the reason Lex never crossed midfield, with possession, WAs due to the fact that you WERE MISSING FOUR STARTERS!

Hurst starts a whiney thread about neutral sites for upstate playoff and my sexual orientation gets called into question... Strange world. To be honest, with a screwy French name like mine I'm surprised I haven't been viciously and gratuitously atacked already. No, guys and gals, I play on the blue team and always have. I did once think about creating an scsoccer.com alter ego named "Bruce the interior designer soccer player" but refrained, knowing it would get Bruce banned eventually if he posted anything suggestive. Oh well...

lpaf

FOUR STARTERS...Hmmmm...must be referring to the girls that never did come out. Or maybe it's the ones that got beat out of their former starting spots. Or maybe it's those girls that Lexington was counting on moving in from Texas but didn't.

Lexington has lost to Irmo and had to score in the last three minutes to nip AAA (2-6 record) Dreher in the last week. You ought to look elsewhere in the Upper State for some competition. South Aiken won Region IV last year over Lexington, and only lost one starter. Mauldin has won the Upper State how often...I've lost count.

BRUCE......I love that one.

I definitely feel the semifinal games should be played at neutral fields. How could they go about getting this changed? Is it true that the state championships will be at USC this year. About time! If it's good for football and basketball it ought to be good for soccer!

Why give anybody the homefield advantage, #1 ranked or not? Random field assignments of all teams throughout the state for all playoff games, I say. Put every team on a bus in the early morning hours of playoff gamedays, drive 'em to Columbia and have a computer randomly pick one of the many available fields throughout every city and hamlet of the state. Then get back on the bus and drive wherever the computer said you had to go. Some kind of simple programming could be done to avoid having a team play in their own hometown. (Chapindad could help with this.) Sure it would eat up most of a day driving, but that's a small sacifice to make for a basic equality.

lpaf

LPAF: I thought that Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" was one of his finest works...Orwellian in his indictment of some aspects of our society...thanks for the riff, Bruce (I mean lpaf).

WOW, you boys were busy today. Some good stuff here. Way too much time on your hands though. Like Deahler said Lexington has no chance to play with the big dogs, I mean girls. I obviously had no idea what I was talking about (as usual) when I made that comment about missing 4 starters and maybe seeing FM in the playoffs. I just hope we make it to the playoffs....

Chic0 --

Slaugtherhouse Five was always my favorite. Man's helplessness in the face of atrocities of his own making, and a hero who has become unstuck in time to boot. Vonnegut was actually captured in the Battle of the Bulge and present in the fire storm of Dresden, facts, among many others, I'm sure you know.

The Poor Mouth arrived today. I haven't started reading it yet, but like that it's short, resembling my attention span. Illustrations by Ralph Steadman.

lpaf

Ha, you girls are starting to sound like the guys now!!

Oh boy, you guys really are bored huh? Yes, I remember reading about Lexington missing 4 starters...the 4 starters went to FL for a club tournament for CESA. I know at least one of the starters was S. Bigbie...so yes they lost to FM and yes they didn't have 4 starters, wouldn't want to win that way.

Deahler-Lex has a lot of talent, everyone has a bad game or two...look at Eastside this past weekend?

lpaf,

Is that you? Did you pull a "R1C" on us and change your name?

H66 --

No. Bruce was my idea, but not my creation. It's a little as though the Invisible Man had come up with the working plans for Frankenstein, only to have some other madman create the creature. A #1 post so Bruce is new.

lpaf

Keep in mind, this might not be the same Bruce. Mine had some specific predilections.

lpaf

Same occupation though.

im getting in on this late but im going to have to stand by my friend hurst66.you should all feel proud that fort-mill is showing up to spank what yall call teams.you may have to remind me but isnt that a rec league yall are in down in the lower state.

Hey, that's soccer40 talking smack, not me.

Please direct your responses to Northwestern HS. Have your girls take it out on them! We will continue to quietly go about our business.

there is nothing quite about those scores yall are putting up.you know the wife is walking around here with all that fort mill stuff on.she does have a track meet today.maybe that is why.no one needs to take it out on nw.fm is the one they will have to beat.i even hear that the close family is buying stock in the girls soccer team
i dont know if you heard but we left the old wildcats team.we will finish out the year with the team taylor p is on.(long story)

mr hurst, sir:

I know I did not treat you with proper respcet when I said you talked a lot a while back and I am still sorry about that. But I think soccer40 is right when he says you are not really being very quiet about FM. You started a whole thread about how nobody else in this state can beat them and they are bound for the treble. I think that means triple but don't ahve a dictionary nearby. It is good to support a strong team but you oughtened to then back away and say you are quietly going about your business. As for the treble, nobody has ever one it because no body has every overcome teh Taco Curse.

soccer40,
your wife walks around the house wearing Fort Mill stuff? That jsut sounds strange to me. Like cheerleader kind of stuff?

Pilgrim,

I appreciate your insight. Up to this point, Fort Mill, based on their body of work, has certainly proved worthy of their #1 ranking. When they beat a team 7-1, and that team jumps up two spots in the state rankings after taking that whipping.....that leads me to believe "the committee" appreciates what the Lady Jackets have done so far.

As I have said on numerous threads, the state championship is no given. The possibility exists that they would have to go through Lexington, Mauldin and James Island (or Wando/West Ashley) in order to get it done, and that is a tall task indeed.

mr hurst,

what I mean to say is that it's ok to brag about how good you school is. Sure they are the best team in this staet, you even have to go to another state to find good teams to play. Jsut don't try to be all "quietly going about our business" at the same time. ok.

...and wipe your feet at the door, hang your towels up on the rack, load the dishes in the washer, sort the clothes acording to color, and clean behind your ears.

Get 'em mama!

TLH --

I would like to hear more about soccer40's wife and the Fort Mill cheerleading outfit.

lpaf

Perhaps an appropriate link would help the situation...

TLH --

I don't think Kyle and Kevin would like that. I do think Pilgrim has a point, it's hard to take a line that varies between humility and "we're number one". Go for it, Hurst, the Fort Mill girls are a fine team and have grown out of a solid non-CESA club structure from what I've heard. They do deserve the number 1 ranking. Enjoy it.

lpaf

Bruce....Bruce.....get some rest!

i was not giving hurst66 a hard time about the scores.in this confrence it is hard not to score.by no means is anyone at fort mill running up the score.
as far as my wife in a cheerleading outfit.i would like to see that my self.
she teaches and coaches in fort mill.she has coached alot of those girls in one sport or another.besides,they give her a pay check once a month.
i was just trying to fire up those lower state people.seems none of them took the bait or they are all in school.