Congrats to Memphis on Spring Fling

[Opperman]

Soupkitchen, the thing you need to realize is that the student fan in most of west tennessee didn't really have the option of going to the Spring Fling in Chattanooga. Memphis is inconvenient for east TN, yes, but Chattanooga was inconvenient for west TN as well.

 

RGE, you mean like losing the Tyson-Lewis fight to DC? Or maybe losing the Grizzlies to New Orleans?

[RealGoEagles]

Tyson Lewis, that's something to hang your hat on. Congratulations. Nashville would have gotten it, like everything else Memphis has ever wanted, but they turned it down. The Titans wouldn't allow them to use Adelphia. I give the Griz two more years. Was there a single sell out last year? The Preds averaged more fans per game in a much smaller venue. What's that tell you? Memphis is a second rate sports town. You got Tyson-Lewis, because no one else wanted it.

[Opperman]

Nashville never put in a bid for Tyson-Lewis...they were never on the list. Nor has Nashville ever been a real candidate for an NBA team, which Memphis apparently wanted, seeing as how we do have the Grizzlies. When's the last time a world championship of any kind was won in Nashville? DC and Detroit wanted the fight too, but it was in Memphis...what's that tell you?

 

The Grizzlies sold out 7 or 8 games this year, not bad for a 23-59 team in a subpar arena...we'll see what happens with attendance when the team is winning in the new arena a couple of years from now. The Predators were a better team in the NHL than the Grizzlies were in the NBA, and they are in a brand new, state-of-the-art facility.

 

If we're going to compare attendances...the one sport where Memphis and Nashville have professional teams in the same league is AAA baseball. Silly me, I can't seem to find Nashville anywhere near the PCL lead in attendance...they're averaging 3,781 a game. That compared to "second-rate" sports town Memphis drawing 10,360 a game.

[RealGoEagles]

Good point. I'd be proud that AAA baseball is more of a draw than NFL football. Read the paper. The TL promoters contacted the Nashville sports council and Bud Adams. It was a no go. Nashville doesn't want NBA. Enjoy it for the three years it's there. Do you remember the line from Castaway where Helen Hunt tells Tom Hanks that Memphis used to have a football team but they moved to Nashville and went to the Super Bowl? I still pee in my pants laughing everytime I see that. But hey, you've got AAA baseball and FedEx. Good times.

 

Why does Memphis have such an inferiority complex anyway?

[SoupKitchen]

I don't want to start a huge deal over this, but it takes approx. 3 to 3 1/2 hrs to drive from Mphs to Chatt.....2 to 2 1/2 Nash/Murf......from Knox to Chatt 1 1/2 to 2.....to Nash/Murf 2 1/2 to 3.....John/Brist/Kings to Chatt 3 to 4 hrs.....to Nash/Murf 3 to 4.......Mphs 5 to 6 1/2.....there is no way around it - Middle TN. ( Nash/Murf/Chatt)provides the overall best driving for all areas of the state.

[SoupKitchen]

One more thing.....I really don't have any trouble with Mphs.....the key is having the opportunity to be in it at all. I would drive to Europe to play in the state tourney. You will never please everyone. It just seems that it would be better for a larger number of people to be more centrally located. I'm in the east and that wouldn't make much sense either.

[Opperman]

SoupKitchen, I agree that not everyone will be happy. But I don't think middle TN should just be given all the state tourneys when superior bids are put on the table by the west or the east. In this case, Memphis's bid blew away anything middle or east had to offer. Also, I would love to know how you get from here to Chattanooga in 3 to 3 and a half hours...it takes that long to get to Nashville, much less Chattanooga. (Unless you're driving 100, in which case...nevermind)

 

RGE, when did I ever say AAA baseball is more of a draw than the NFL? Do they teach reading comprehension at Ezell-Harding, or does all the money go to recruiting players?

 

Memphis never had an NFL team. It was Nashville's team, which explains why we didn't show up. If the St. Louis Rams played their home games in Chapter 11 Coliseum, and everyone knew they would be moving to St. Louis the next year no matter what the attendance was, would it sell out?

 

Oh yeah...and how about that Super Bowl? As a native St. Louisan, I was quite proud to see that one.

 

Why do people take unprovoked potshots at Memphis and get upset when we defend ourselves anyway?

[RealGoEagles]

As far as the unprovoked shots, I guess it just comes naturally. I saw a list of things to do in Memphis on a saturday. Look around, give up, and drive to Tunica. Memphis can't even put 15,000 people in the seats for NBA. That's sad. In the FIRST YEAR they can't put butts in seats. Yeah you have a nice AAA park. Congrats. The Titans have sold out every game for three years, and the Preds average 80% capacity. Memphis is a AAA town with an inferiority complex. But my question is: Is it a complex when you really are inferior? But you still have FedEx! Woohoo.

 

P.S. See even YOU claim St. Louis as your hometown. No one claims Memphis. Let's sell it to Arkansas. That would fix the state budget.

[KevB1990]

If I lived in Nashville, I'd have been furious if they HAD put in a bid for the Lewis/Tyson debacle.

 

What a joke.

[Opperman]

I claim both cities, fool. As for the Grizzlies, it was a bad team in a bad building in a relatively inconvenient location. I think most people will be more likely to go to a game at the new arena because the atmosphere will just be so much better. It's not like the Grizzlies were an NBA Finals team in their first year here...considering their record this year, I'd say averaging 14,415 is pretty good...especially considering there were two playoff teams behind them, one of which is in the Finals. BTW, the Grizzlies were at 78.5% capacity this year in a bigger building than Gaylord.

[CoachT]

Where are they building the new arena?

[Pantherbert]

Kev...just how was the Tyson/Lewis fight a joke?