MIAA Deserves Credit for Major League Venues

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association deserves a lot of credit for giving athletes statewide the memorable opportunity of participating in the finest venues available in the state.

We say this as the Lynn English girls basketball team prepares to take the court Monday night at the TD Garden and the St. Mary’s girls basketball team prepares to play there Tuesday afternoon.

Can there be a bigger thrill for a high school basketball player than to play on the most famous (parquet) floor in the NBA and for that matter, the whole world?

The Tsongas Center, where English and St. Mary’s defeated their opponents Saturday, is also a great facility for the North sectional finals. The city of Lowell  had tremendous vision to get such a wonderful arena built. UMass/Lowell is now running the center and its teams play there as their home court/rink.

We remember the great thrill that coach Gary Molea’s 1990 Lynn English team [with Chris Warren at quarterback] experienced in its Super Bowl appearance at then-Foxboro Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.

Super Bowls are now played at Gillette Stadium while the high school hockey state championship games are played at the TD Garden, where the St. Mary’s girls hockey team has won state titles in recent years.

The Division 1-3 state basketball title games at the DCU Center, scheduled for Saturday in Worcester, represents one of the great days in high school sports at another first-class venue. The MIAA has it right on with their basketball and hockey tournaments and their choice of arenas.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.