ESPN is on the quest to name one city in the country as the top championship city. They are releasing the name of once school every day for 2o days to name 20 finalists and our very own Chapel Hill is one of the top 20. ESPN will be filming in Chapel Hill on Tuesday this week from Roy Williams basketball camp and pep rally. The actual footage will air on in a segment between July 4 and 23.
The top 20 were chosen by fans and ESPN personnel but the ultimate decision will be made by those who log onto ESPN.com and vote. You can see what other towns have been nominated here.
When I saw Chapel Hill on the list I wasn’t surprised. Most people think of the Dean Smith legacy and Carolina basketball’s five national championships but they also have had women’s soccer, field hockey, and women’s basketball teams that continue to be at the top year after year and have all earned their own national championships. But also on the list are towns like Detroit and Boston, mixed with the Little League Capital of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Now are you really gonna compare a college town like most of the southern towns listed to all of the northern towns? Obviously Chapel Hill is a great college TitleTown. Compared to Knoxville and Gainsville, I think they have more of a rich history with the diversity in different sports. But for this competition I think it would be better broken down into three different categories: Amature TitleTown, College TitleTown and Pro TitleTown.
Either way, ESPN will name the next five finalists this week. We will see what they include my my next five would include:
*Augusta, GA- Home of the Masters where Arnie Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have shown us the blood and sweat that goes into a true golf title and the green jacket that comes along with it.
*Atlanta, GA- Home of the Braves, with 14 division championships; the Falcons; and the 1994 Olympics.
*New York- The 2008 Super Bowl Champs- NY Giants; J-E-T-S, J-E-T-S, Jets! Jets! Jets!; Mets; Knicks; and of course the Yankees with names like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio not to mention 26 World Series Titles
*El Paso, TX- Home of Texas Western (now UTEP)- the winners of the 1966 NCAA National Championship over The University of Kentucky in Basketball and the first school to start five black men, changing college basketball history (you know, the story told in the movie Glory Road)
*Boone, NC- Three time, back to back to back, NCAA DI football champs, the Appalachian State Mountaineers
What other towns would you pick to win the name TitleTown?
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June 23rd, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Top 5
1 - LA (UCLA 100 championships, Lakers chamionships, Galaxy championships, etc.)
2 - Boston (Celtics, Red Sox, Bruins, Boston College, Patriots, etc.)
3 - NY (Yankees WS titles, Knicks, Mets,)
4 - Detroit (Red Wings, Tigers, Pistons, ..not so much Lions haha)
5 - Chicago (Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks)
June 27th, 2008 at 12:57 am
I pick the town that already has the phrase “Titletown, USA” on their city’s seal.
Green Bay.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I love the aspect of El Paso just because of what they did with that national title, but that is it as far as titles go for that town. Out of that list, I would have to go with either Atlanta with their division dynasty along with the Olympics, or Augusta. Augusta is the only place to host a major every single year, and with the famous “amen” corner, that place is awesome. In the end though, I think LA will win with the Lakers and Dodgers in the professional aspect, and then UCLA in college basketball and USC with college football, that combination is hard to beat!
July 18th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Chapel Hill is, without any doubt for those of us who have traveled to most of the other nominee cities, the real Title Town. Its a really small town - 50,000 residents. Physically and demographically, half town is the University of North Carolina - the oldest public university in the Nation. Amazingly, the largest building in town is the Dean Dome. If you’ve ever been to a TarHeels game, you know there is no better experience in all of sports - not the Super Bowl, not Tiger Woods winning at Pebble Beach, not the World Series or, I hesitate to say this, the Olympic Games. UNC and their Tar Heels do a better job of revving up the crowd and TURNING IT BLUE than any other sports venue ever has, anywhere. Although they win a lot, you don’t really care because the excitement is so high. Unless it’s a Duke game. Then you have the hottest ticket of all. Plus, these great big footprints of Michael Jordan absoloutely cover the town. If that isn’t enough, the University just promoted a world class entrepreneur to the position of Chancellor. Look out MIT and Stanford - the best of the “public Ivy’s” is about to crush your innovation titles too. UNC is a world class university with stellar faculty everywhere. And they compete at the highest levels in many sports. Basketball is the most well regarded, but there are so many sports - men’s and women’s - that UNC has fielded National Athlete’s of the Year in over the decades. So, go ahead - pick a big city like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles where sports are just one commercial element of their communities. Or, pick Chapel Hill - where winning academics and sports titles are both at the heart and spirt of this amazing little town. Title Town is Tar Heel Town - Chapel Hill.
August 5th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
NO