The Revolution will be Groupon'd

College lacrosse is as popular as it has ever been: Championship Weekend is now a 40,000 attendees-per-day type of affair; according to U.S. Lacrosse, some 600,000 folks are registered to rip rope and the such; and your weekends now include numerous lacrosse broadcasts in actual high definition (just like a real television program!). These are the good times, people.

And yet, the Big East Tournament -- which will be held at Villanova starting on May 3, 2012 -- is somehow just as popular as that nail salon downtown that you always pass, never see anyone in, and causes you to remark to your girlfriend or boyfriend, "So, uh, doesn't a business concern actually need business to have a concern?"

Yes, boys and girls, the Big East Conference -- via Villanova University -- is turning to Groupon to get butts into the seats for its postseason tournament. Unlike those nail salon Groupon deals that flood your inbox -- Buy a seven-toe pedicure and get your last three toes free! (Offer does not apply to less-than- and more-than-ten-toe individuals. Sorry, icky people.) -- the league is kind of begging for your business but not, you know, coming hat in hand and asking if you have any spare change to get them down the road:

Ancient Greeks celebrated sports such as gymnastics, wrestling, and running around wildly with an open flame. Watch a safer form of athletic history unfold with this GrouponLive deal to see the Big East Men's Lacrosse Championship at Villanova Stadium. Youth tickets are valid for children 12 and younger; children 2 and younger receive free admission. Choose from the following options:

• For $12, you get a Coach package with one adult and one youth ticket for general-admission seating (a $24 value)
• For $16, you get a Fan package with two adult tickets for general-admission seating (a $32 value)
• For $24, you get a Family package with two adult and two youth tickets for general-admission seating (a $48 value)

Tickets are valid for admission to the entire tournament:

• Semi-finals game one on Thursday, May 3, at 4:30 p.m.
• Semi-finals game two on Thursday, May 3, at 7 p.m.
• The championship game on Saturday, May 5, at noon

I've already heard some whining from certain Big East corners -- I'm looking at you, myopic and frenetic Syracuse fans -- that the Big East may have made a bit of a boo-boo (Really? People are shocked at the Big East for making mistakes? Well, now I've heard everything!) in having Villanova host the league's first postseason tournament. To that, I offer:

• The 1991 NCAA Championship held up at the Carrier Dome was a bit of an attendance nightmare for the final. When the Tar Heels bounced the host-Orange in the semifinals, the Dome became a morgue for the Carolina-Towson final. I think there's still a bit of concern about hosting a televised big men's lacrosse event in the Carrier Dome with the potential of Syracuse not playing throughout and the locals staying home with their beloveds eliminated from contention. This, however, is likely a secondary issue -- Syracuse is hosting the 2012 Big East women's lacrosse tournament after all -- but it does bleed into the second point of . . .
• . . . Where the hell else are you going to host this thing? South Bend and Syracuse are outposts for the conference membership, St. John's doesn't have capacity to host an event of this caliber (unless they moved it up to Hofstra), Providence may or may not be a real place in these United States of America, and nobody cares about anything at Georgetown or than telling people that they are associated to Georgetown. Rutgers would be a solid alternative, but would the league really feel comfortable letting the Scarlet Knights host with little chance of the home team actually participating in the tournament? That's suspect.

So, Villanova it is and, at the very least, they're trying. (Even if they're treading in "Buy two slices of pizza and we'll throw in the crusts free!" territory.)