The Women’s Pac-10 Tournament begins today in San Jose.  I think.  I haven’t really looked it up, and honestly, I don’t care.  I think conference tournaments are kinda dumb for major conferences, and, other than a little extra revenue, I honestly don’t see the point.

The concept itself seems sound on paper:
1) Get all the teams together for a single-elimination tournament
2) Award the winner an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament
3) Sell tickets and put the games on TV
4) Profit!

Except…

I can see how this sort of thing would be thrilling in a minor conference, with everyone playing for their seasons, but in the Pac-10, the best teams are simply playing for seeding.  The tension and excitement are gone.  Oh, sure, it would be thrilling if some scrappy team with no chance at an at-large bid to the NCAAs were to somehow put together a winning streak and claim a cinderella bid to the big dance, but we all pretty much know that that’s not going to happen.

In the 6 years of the women’s basketball tournament, the top seed (Stanford) has won 4 times.  (Yes, Stanford has been the #1 seed in every tournament.)  Twice the Cardinal were upset in the title game by the #3 seed.  All 6 of those teams were going to the tournament anyway.  In fact, no team with a seed lower than 3 has ever even made the finals.

See, if there’s nothing really at stake but a minor trophy, then the fans don’t really care.  And if the fans don’t care, they won’t buy tickets or watch the game on TV.  And if no one watches the games, then where’s the profit coming from?  And if there’s no profit, why are we going through this whole exercise again?

Look, if Cal reaches the finals and gets a third shot at Stanford, I’ll probably pay attention.  Because it’s Stanford, and I really really really like seeing them lose.  But my heart won’t really be in it.  Cal lost their share of the Pac-10 title last weekend in Seattle, and winning a 4-day tournament in San Jose won’t really make up for that.  Until Monday night, however, I’ve got better things to do.  Such as my laundry.  (I really, really need to do laundry.)

Lest anyone think I’m hating on the women here, I have an equal amount of disinterest regarding the men’s tournament at the Staples Center.  Yes, Cal has pulled off a thrilling overtime upset each of the last two years, but Leon Powe’s team was going to the tournament already in ‘06, and Ubaka’s team didn’t even get an NIT bid last year despite upsetting No. 1 seed UCLA.  I really would like to care, but I need to see some evidence that this whole charade actually matters first.

Wake me when there’s something real at stake.  Go Bears.