MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — That’s more like it.
All of it.
The stands that have been virtually nonexistent this year on the AVP Tour? Back to their full size in Manhattan Beach, with a packed VIP section, drinks flowing, and a line that snaked all the way to the Manhattan Beach Pier, weaving around a thick sponsor village that remained full of inquiring fans all weekend. Maybe the best part? Those fans began arriving early on Friday morning, the first day of main draw of last weekend’s Manhattan Beach Open. So crowded was the Gold Series event on Friday morning and afternoon that many of the players wondered, with amusement, how so many people were in attendance during normal working hours.
Because people take off for holidays, that’s why. And the Manhattan Beach Open is a holiday for fans and players alike.
The volleyball delivered, as Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb alas regained their swaggering form, sustaining it throughout an entire tournament en route to a second consecutive Manhattan Open title. Sara Hughes, whose first Manhattan Open came as a 10-year-old volunteer with the same, swishing blonde ponytail, won the title she seemed almost predestined to win, in an epic come-from-behind fashion. Down 10-13 in the third set to Kelly Cheng and Betsi Flint, Hughes and Kelley Kolinske scored five straight, in a wonderful display of heart and grit.
That right there: That’s AVP beach volleyball.
Yet, of course, questions remain from the fans of SANDCAST. The thousands who were not able to attend all asked a version of the same question for us to answer this week:
Please, please, please talk about the AVP not streaming all courts. It’s really pissing the fans off.
Any insight into why the stands are smaller at the events and court two is not being streamed?
The most important element of my answer is this: I don’t know. What follows is just speculation. But if I had to guess, I’d imagine the answer could be summed up in a single word: Money.
At this point in the season, the first under the ownership of Bally’s, it’s not an altogether shocking insight that Bally’s seems to be tightening what already appeared to be a fairly tight budget for its newest asset (or liability). Streaming is expensive. And it’s especially expensive when hardly anybody is watching the matches.
It’s easy for me to empathize with Jeff Dittman and our taco loving fan. I,…
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