As a side note, I'd only say that I _do_ see Nashville as an _eventual_ strong candidate city (outside the context of this Orioles paranoia). The Braves have by far the most to lose as they currently command the plurality of MLB fans in AL, MS, and most of TN. And the plurality of support in most LA counties is for ... the Yankees!
The Braves stand to be by far the crankiest about a prospective Nashville team. But the combined eyeballs of TN, AL, MS, and a goodly bit of LA are not insubstantial and while many legacy fans would hold their allegiances, "the South" would -- I think -- very much embrace a team of its own (Atlanta is in the South but, increasingly, with a cultural asterisk of sorts; one could say Nashville is becoming less purely southern as well but it is still a decade or two behind Atlanta in that regard).
Again, great piece. And I want 'em to stay because -- as I've mentioned in another venue -- I like having Matt Blood as a neighbor on my block. But someday I do think the Deep South will have a team (presuming the general health of MLB, which is a somewhat open question) and if it does, Nashville is the only reasonable option (even if Birmingham better carries the cultural bona fides at this point).
Good stuff. And I agree.
As a side note, I'd only say that I _do_ see Nashville as an _eventual_ strong candidate city (outside the context of this Orioles paranoia). The Braves have by far the most to lose as they currently command the plurality of MLB fans in AL, MS, and most of TN. And the plurality of support in most LA counties is for ... the Yankees!
The Braves stand to be by far the crankiest about a prospective Nashville team. But the combined eyeballs of TN, AL, MS, and a goodly bit of LA are not insubstantial and while many legacy fans would hold their allegiances, "the South" would -- I think -- very much embrace a team of its own (Atlanta is in the South but, increasingly, with a cultural asterisk of sorts; one could say Nashville is becoming less purely southern as well but it is still a decade or two behind Atlanta in that regard).
Again, great piece. And I want 'em to stay because -- as I've mentioned in another venue -- I like having Matt Blood as a neighbor on my block. But someday I do think the Deep South will have a team (presuming the general health of MLB, which is a somewhat open question) and if it does, Nashville is the only reasonable option (even if Birmingham better carries the cultural bona fides at this point).