[Diogenes]

Just because two regions share an arbitrary border doesn't mean they are natural rivals. There's really no outstanding reason teams from those areas should even think of coming to EKY. We do not offer any outstanding competition that they won't be able to find in their own backyards. While we love our region, it is not a hotbed of good football. There are only a couple of teams that can contend on a state level, and only in the smaller classes at that. We have a smattering of very good programs, a few more solid programs, and a whole bunch of Phelps and Betsy Laynes. Their fans aren't going to be very excited about driving hours and hours on awful roads to the middle of nowhere. Let's face it: it IS the state's blind spot. Hours away from all the major cities, there are no interstates or really even decent ways in and out. It is a transportation nightmare. A lot of those trips would require a hotel for the visiting team. A lot of money to lay out in a time when not many schools, especially public districts, don't have spare funds to throw around for a trip that is retry tough to justify.

How hard a sell would it have been for JC after playing Heath last year to return that trip? Drive seven hours for a game that offers little in the way of competition? That's what you're asking these teams to do.