10 Best: Memphis |
Ten Good Things About Memphis |
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10 |
Basketball | |
| Yes, on a day like today it seem hard to put this one on the list, but rather than make it #1 on one of my 10 Worst, I'm trying to stay positive. Memphis has been to three Final Fours with three different coaches. And while we are left with a steaming ash heap here right now for a team, at least this time we don't have the NCAA to deal with. We will get it back together... eventually. | ||
9 |
AutoZone Park | |
| Today is April 1st, which means baseball is right around the corner. Might I suggest that we all head to the gem of a ballpark we built around here and feel better about how we really did that thing right. It's a great place to be and, win or lose, a good time. When was the last time you could say that about Tiger Basketball? | ||
8 |
Distribution | |
| Whether it's freight or drugs, you have to tip your hat to the way Memphis moves stuff around. Darn near everything in the world comes through here! We are #1 in the world in airport cargo, have massive amounts of barge traffic, are the home of FedEx, and have more trucks come through our city per day than any other city in America. No matter where you live, if you bought it... it probably came through Memphis first. | ||
7 |
Water | |
| Memphis has the best water in the country. Period. Why anybody drinks bottled water around here is a mystery. It's just stoopid. Why we don't take more advantage of it is beyond me. With climate changes and an increasingly dry mid-west within pipe distance, I would think that somebody smart around here would think of a water-based industry idea that would really benefit the city. Maybe now that we are not all glued to our radios, tv's and computers listening to whether or not coach is staying or going, we can work on that. | ||
6 |
The Bluff | |
| Speaking of natural advantages, the bluff seems to get no love around here as it pertains to how it saves our city. In spite of being right on the bank of the second largest river in the world, we don't flood. Ask folks up there on the Red River right now how important that is. Look, there is a reason Memphis is where it is... and its isn't the great weather. Our forefathers were sharper than we give them credit for as it pertains to picking a spot to build a city. And they did it without the benefit of google-maps. | ||
5 |
No State Income Tax | |
| None. We don't have it. If you don't live in Tennessee... you probably do. The only people this doesn't benefit are those without a job. I can live with upsetting that demographic. Get to work. | ||
4 |
Galloway Golf Course | |
| I don't play golf. Probably never will. But what our city did with that course several years ago is remarkable. No, I'm not all that impressed that we built it... I'm impressed that we've maintained it. It really is hard to tell that it is a public course, especially given who's in charge of it. | ||
3 |
BBQ | |
| Everywhere you go in the south, people say they have the best BBQ. They are wrong. We do. It's not even worth talking about. Shut up. You are embarrassing yourself. | ||
2 |
September | |
| After what is inevitably a long hot summer, Memphis in September is a fantastic place. It's convertable weather. It's dinner on the patio weather. The leaves change, the doves start to fly, and you can smell the football in the air. And given our geography, you can hit no less than 7 major college football hubs on any given Saturday without much of a drive. So if you are a college football fan, September is not just the best month of the year in Memphis, it's the best month of the year pretty much anywhere. | ||
#1 |
Music | |
From Elvis to Three 6 Mafia, Memphis has a long history with it's music. It's a part of our culture that will never go away. We did somehow bungle the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame thing. That was disappointing. But over time it has always been a constant. I love going to eat lunch downtown and hearing somebody on Beale the playing in the background as you walk through the parking garage. The music is everywhere and it just sort of gives the city a rhythm we take for granted. But I mean seriously... Cleveland. No really... Cleveland. NY or LA, ok I get that. But Cleveland? |
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| To Close | ||
| Well that's it. Do you feel any better about coach leaving? I hope so. If not, let me hear about it in the comment area below. | ||
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