To be honest, I don’t have a problem with the Panthers playing at Mason. Sure, it has an eight-lane track around the field, but so do a lot of other stadiums where the Panthers have played, including Winton Woods, Princeton, and Gahanna Lincoln (LaSalle has a six-lane track). You have to admit, Mason has plenty of easy parking; the $5 fee they will charge is the maximum allowed by the OHSAA. On the other hand, I must confess I do not know if the food is any good; I’ll probably check out a dog and burger.
Last year against Colerain, it was in the upper 30s at kickoff with a bit of a steady breeze. I remember thinking to myself, at least the wind is at my back. As the higher seed, I guess X will get the home side, so if the wind is blowing again it almost certainly will be at our backs and in their faces. Although I really wasn’t cold last year, this year I know a bit more and will bring a blanket and be plenty warm.
As for Hamilton, it also has an eight-lane track, and parking is nowhere near as good as at Mason.
Finally, google maps says it takes 13 minutes to drive from Visi to Elder. For the trip from Visi to Mason, it pegs the drive at 39 minutes; add 5-10 minutes for rush hour slowdowns, and you have a drive of 44-49 minutes, which is only 31-36 minutes longer than driving from Visi to The Pit. Personally, I do not consider driving an extra 36 minutes (of course your time may vary) to watch the Panthers eliminate X to be driving “far” or even approaching “far.” That said, playing the game at Mason will save me about 25 minutes over driving to The Pit, and about 50 minutes total round trip; that’s another reason I don’t mind driving to Mason.