Dontcha think?

Yes. Especially since it is a region.

Yes. But it's as much a state as the Tri-Cities is a town.

How would you like me to reference "Good sports town" or "Bad sports town?"

Technically, because Detroit has more than 10,000 residents, it is not a "town." It is a city.

Are you going to be anal and therefore say that writers who say "Detroit is a good sports town" are using the wrong word?

So, in the terminology of calling the Tri-Cities a good or bad sports town, I think I'm justified.

But no matter how you spin it, you're still going to look like an idiot.

I was thinking a bit about this thread and think there might be a greater issue here.

Namely, the mindset of the area.

For all I bash it, this area has a chance to be very unique. If you eliminate the mindset that Johnson City is one town and Kingsport is another and think of the Tri-Cities as one big metropolitan area, then the metro area is one in which you literally could have farms and incredible greenspaces within said city limits.

And since the various cities have annexed themselves to the point where they almost are touching one another, doesn't it make sense to think not of Kingsport as one city and Johnson City as another but rather one big metro area?

Granted, unless the three cities give up their incorporation and unite (Strength coach Lee Morrow could comment on this because his hometown is actually one that did this in the 19th century) you're going to have individual municipal governments and such.

But most cities have suburbs with their own individual governments. But the suburbs don't think of themselves as not a part of the metro area.

So if we thought of the Tri-Cities as a "town,' or even tried to make it one, which would not necessarily eliminate the uniqueness of individual communities (is there not individuality in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and The Bronx?), then would not a "town" of 125,000-250,000 (depending on where one places the city limits) generate more federal attention and national recognition than one city of 57,000, another of 40,000, another of 23,000 and another of 17,000 and Elizabethton over here at 12,000 and Piney Flats at 1,500 and . . . .

Actually it was Buccaneer Lover who referred to the Tri Cities as a town, not you Mr. Pitt. And I made note of it not to be anal or contrary but to spark conversation about the very nature of the Tri-Cities. There is no sense of community amongst the ten or twelve "towns" that make up the Tri Cities. Johnson City doesn't like Kingsport, Kingsport looks down it's nose at Bristol etc. It has been said on these very boards that Kingsport and Bristol residents think of ETSU as the "Johnson City College" and until that mindset changes it will be hard for a football program to thrive.
I think it's cute though that you thought this was about you.

Would somebody tell this Johnny Come Lately I have been referring to the Tri-Cities as a "bad sports town" for about seven years now on the boards and publicly for about 12?

Other than that, rookie, it should interest you to know this whole board is about me.

And it is a very cute board, if I may say so myself.

Okay, here fitty, "The Tri-Cities SUCKS as a market." Is that better?

Man, folks around here sure are quick to take offense. I need to check and make sure this isn't a U.T. message board. Again, my tongue in cheek thread was intended to spark discussion of the fact that the Tri Cities don't hold up well as a cohesive community. I was not taking actual issue with your verbage, instead I was using it as a springboard to generate discussion. I don't care if you call the Tri Cities a town, a burg, a hamlet, a village, a region, an area,a nation, a gathering, a flock, a gaggle, a coven, a commonwealth, a parsonage, a county or parrish. You can call it Ray or Jay. In fact you can call it late for dinner and I'll not lose a moments rest.

It was late for dinner, and left with the bill. Everyone else is at the UT game. You're right, the area isn't united, it never has been. In the old days of newspaper the Times-News used to kill for stories that would make Johnson City look bad, and instead of ALL the governments in the region working together to improve everything, they work against one another. They can't see the forest for all the trees up there.

That's the basic point I was trying to make. And until there can be some unity amongst the colonies there won't be a servicable "Local arena" for concerts, minor league sports etc. Sad really, it would be a boon for the whole region.

Fitty- You think you introduced "tounge-in-cheek" to this board?

Supposedly, at ETSU they have a file on me that has every "tounge-in-cheek" statement I have ever made on here that they try to use against me.

That said, you don't know the half of it, sister, on that new arena thing. I'll PM you with more details but am working on something right now.