In just one day, we learned a lot about what the TSSAA is about.
All it took was learning the fate of where the state high school championship games would be played for the next couple of seasons.

On the surface, it appears the association places money at the top of its priority list and it's not really "all about the kids" as is said after every controversial decision that's made by the TSSAA.
Cookeville won the right to host the eight games with a price tag of $251,000. Chattanooga was second with a $241,000 guarantee and Murfreesboro put in a $231,000 bid.

Murfreesboro has been the center of Tennessee high school championships for the past four years. Taking Spring Fling ensured that all state champions would be crowned in Murfreesboro, with the exception of cross country, wrestling, girls' soccer, and bowling.

Chattanooga currently hosts the girls' soccer state championships and did a great job with Spring Fling for several years.
As for Cookeville hosting state tournaments, well, they haven't.
And that's what is so puzzling.

Let's get a couple of things straight. In the overall scope of running and overseeing Tennessee high school sports, I have very few complaints with the TSSAA.
And after reading how little effort Murfreesboro put into placing their bid, coupled with it being the minimum, the city probably deserved to lose the most prized of all championship events.

But in talking with a high-ranking TSAAA official just a couple of weeks before the decision was made, it was made clear that it was Murfreesboro's game to lose. And that it did.
So now we're down to Cookeville and Chattanooga.

One city is considered a major city in Tennessee, easy to access, and hosts an event much larger than state football championships - the NCAA Football Championship Series title game.
The other is a blip on the map, has never hosted anything in the scope of an event like the TSSAA championships, and essentially has one way in and one way out.

Is $10,000 plus any revenue generated by the games that important? In a city the size of Murfreesboro or Chattanooga, there's a large population to attract fans with no connection to the teams playing for the championships.

But with Cookeville being 100 miles from Nashville and Knoxville, and a laboring drive from Memphis or Chattanooga, you can pretty much remove the thought of attracting many people besides those supporting a particular team.

Another reason for the move was MTSU's Floyd Stadium seated 32,000 people and had an empty feeling when only 8,000 people showed up for the games.
Tennessee Tech's Tucker Stadium, where the games will be played seats roughly 16,500.
Finley Stadium in Chattanooga is listed as being about 4,000 seats bigger than Tucker Stadium. Do those 4,000 seats really give that much more of an empty feeling?

It amazes me that the TSSAA wants to go to a smaller stadium for a better atmosphere, while states such as Alabama are moving their titles games to Tuscaloosa and Auburn.
Georgia's state title games are played at The Georgia Dome. Texas will play theirs at the new Cowboys Stadium.

What do those places have in common? The smallest venue seats 70,000 people.
Cowboys Stadium and Bryant-Denny Stadium seat over 90,000.
To me, the more meaningful stadium to play in is a big one.

Tellico Plains played a baseball game at Smokies Stadium in 2008. There were maybe 100 people there at a park that seats 6,500 fans.
But in that regular season game, the players were on Cloud 9, relishing the opportunity to play in a minor league stadium.

I would think playing in an empty Neyland Stadium means more than playing in a full Tucker Stadium.
I'm just not buying the "filled stadium equaling a more gratifying experience" argument.
I'm willing to give Cookeville a chance to prove itself as a worthy host.

However, I'll also wonder if somewhere else couldn't do it better for the next two years.