Terence Moore: Genius

I was originally going to title this Post "Terence Moore: Total Idiot", but upon reflection, the guy had written a piece so ineptly argued and full of ludicrous generalizations, that he must be some sort of evil genius. He's got everybody talking. Hell, I'm giving him free advertising right now by discussing his idiotic piece. Anyway, here are his arguments for why Atlanta should not get the 2009 Super Bowl:

1. "Speaking of which, James Wilson is finishing his 23rd year as a senior meteorologist at the Weather Channel, and he told me Wednesday from its national headquarters in Marietta that ice storms occur in this region 'about once every three to five years.'

"Between pauses, while checking various charts and graphs, Wilson added, 'We're due for the next one around 2009. When was Atlanta trying to get another Super Bowl?'"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but ice storms are not cyclical and even if they arrive, they can come at any point in a three-month period, which means that the odds of an ice storm on Super Bowl weekend 2009 are still minute. And given that the NFL has given Super Bowls to Detroit and New York in recent history, Atlanta does not have to apologize weather-wise. Yes, Tampa's weather is marginally better, but Tampa also lacks a hub airport, a public transport system, and Atlanta's capability to host lost of visitors.

2. "It's just that, when we're talking about bringing Super Bowls to Atlanta, we're talking about doing so for an over-stuffed city, with its vehicle-clogged streets and its strikingly provincial attitude."

Over-stuffed? Try overly spread out. And yes, there's a traffic problem here, but you list Southern California on your preferred list of Super Bowl locales. Ever drive the 405 at rush hour?

And the provincial remark? I know you're just trying to get everyone's goat, but you're from the highly-segregated upper Midwest and you're lecturing people here on being provincial? By the way, the term means "limited in perspective," which describes your columns nicely.

3. Yes, the '96 Olympics presented logistical problems, but the main criticism of those Olympics elsewhere was that they were too commercial. Atlanta/Georgia made the decision to finance the Games primarily through sponsorship, rather than taking on massive governmental debt. I'm quite happy with that decision. And don't even bother comparing the NBA All-Star Game, unless you think that Super Bowl week is going to bring a bevy of visitors whose objective is simply to cruise. Nothing like that happened at the previous Atlanta Super Bowls. And how exactly is Tampa supposed to be better, with their non-existent public transport system?

Terence, go back to arguing that the Braves don't want competitive players because they got rid of Brian Jordan. Thanks for reminding me why I rarely read your swill.