Kingsport Spirit

Tennessee is a wonderful state with many positive tax and quality-of-life advantages. The state constitution divides it into three grand divisions–East, Middle, and West from the Mighty Mississippi to the Great Smoky Mountains. That’s what our rare, bold, and elegantly simple red Tristar flag stands for. The blue circle symbolizes the eternal bond and unity of the three regions. Side note: the flag was designed by a Johnson City native.

Now that that’s out of the way, I’m amazed at how geographically-challenged many people are when it comes to Tennessee. Maybe they’ve never had an occasion to ponder it. I sat beside someone on a plane to Tri-Cities (TRI) who said he almost flew into Nashville and rented a car because he assumed it was the primary airport for the entire state. I said, “Gosh, we’re an hour closer to Charlotte than Nashville.” He looked perplexed. I get that reaction a lot.

Another common misunderstanding is that Tri-Cities is ‘just past Knoxville’. Well, I guess if an hour and half drive constitutes ‘just past’. It would be akin to saying that Chattanooga is just past Knoxville, which it’s not. It’s a unique metropolitan area, just like Tri-Cities.

And as badly as I want to love the Tennessee Titans, they break my heart–a lot. I yearn for the days of Air McNair. The media markets put us in the Titans fan zone, but in reality, we could just as easily have been in the Charlotte (3 hours), Atlanta (4 1/2 hours), Cincinnati (4 1/2 hours), Washington (6 hours) or Indianapolis markets (6 hours).

Another ‘a-ha’ moment was when our high school football team was hosting a school from the Chattanooga area. It was rain-delayed, and our marching band had to leave during the 4th quarter for a competition they had the next morning in Winston-Salem, NC (a little under three hours’ drive). It dawned on me that our band would arrive at their NC destination before our visitors got home after the game–in the same state.

But the confusion isn’t just limited to people from out-of-state. Before I retired, I was often asked to welcome in-state meetings arriving at our local Marriott convention center. I always emphasized our common interests in tax laws, fiscal policy, general government, and love for that Tristar flag, but always tried to find a fun way to refocus them to their temporary point of view from this end of Tennessee. It served a couple of purposes. It reminded them that while we’re here, tucked away in the northeast corner, we’re just as much “Tennessee” as everyone else. Our perspective may be a little different, but our state pride is no less. We’re the gateway for folks arriving from points northeast like Pennsylvania, New York, and New England–22% of the U.S. population. And, if only for a moment, it let them see Tennessee from our point of view.

I find that geography can be fun, but it requires a context that is interesting to the reader. For example, my son loves all things college football. It drove him crazy when Missouri joined the “Southeastern” Conference. It was even crazier when California schools joined the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference.

With college football just around the corner, it’s another way to put our geography in context. Of course, our immediate regional school is East Tennessee State University. Go Bucs! Local fan favorite FBS team are the Tennessee Volunteers and Appalachian State Mountaineers (both 1 1/2 hours), and Virginia Tech (2 1/4 hours).

Wake Forest (NC), Clemson (SC), Chattanooga, or Tennessee Tech are all 3 hours’ drive or slightly under.

South Carolina, Kentucky, Duke, and UNC are 3 1/2 to 4 hours away.

UVA and UGA are the same distance as Middle Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

And when it comes to Memphis, we’re 2 hours closer to NC State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Western Kentucky. We’re about 1 1/2 hours closer to West Virginia, East Carolina, Miami (OH), and Ohio State. And we’re an hour closer to Alabama, Auburn, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Indiana, and Navy.

So, the next time you want to see ‘your team’ play at a visiting opponent’s stadium, draw a broader circle. There are 100 FBS and FCS schools that are a convenient drive from Kingsport.

Tennessee’s geography offers unique advantages, whether your perspective is centered on Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, or Chattanooga. But don’t forget the Tri-Cities tucked away in Northeast Tennessee. It’s equidistant from the Atlantic, Mississippi, Great Lakes, and Gulf, and shares the same tax advantages and unrivaled quality of life.

Here’s the full spreadsheet. What observations do you have that I may have missed?