Charlotte's "NC" attachment

[voyager12]

I also think Charlotte's name recognition is growing rapidly. I have not had to correct anyone this year so far. My last incident being a year ago when in response to stating where I was from, I got in return: Oh I love UVA, did you go there

[MR-2]

Fair enough, though it is hard to deny the indignation in this thread is some proof of that. Some feel that Charlotte should be a nationally recognized name, maybe that's not pride, but it's close. Most people are proud of their states and cities, though some are going to louder, more vocal, etc. about it because, like NC and Charlotte, they are in that particular position of being rising stars but not quite "there" yet. It is an observation that includes some bias, true, but I am certainly not just basing it off my own views.

A rising tide lifts all boats. If Charlotte is nationally recognized, NC as a whole gets positive recognition as a byproduct of that.

[krazeeboi]

^True, but whenever I see Georgia ranked high for something good, I usually attribute that solely to Atlanta. It's a bit different in NC's case though, since the urbanized areas are spread somewhat evenly throughout the state--more preferable than one huge metro dominating the state IMO.

[nowensone]

A rising tide lifts all boats. If Charlotte is nationally recognized, NC as a whole gets positive recognition as a byproduct of that.

It does, but in our case (NC) the rising tide is not just Charlotte, it is the state itself too, which includes to a degree the other metros. They should play off each other quite well, and the internal competitiveness between our cities will only spur this forward. That kind of ties into what I was saying about Charlotteans and North Carolinians being prouder than most - there is that atmosphere of growth and competitiveness here as a rising star, like you see between Floridians and Texans and their cities, though those states are more "established" and so have settled a bit. That is subjective as hell, but from my experience we have a reputation as being outspoken boosters of the state, I've heard it so many times that I believe it to at least be the perception if not a general truth. Call me out, now, metro.

[Durhamite]

Some call it boosterism, I call it sales and marketing. As the old saying goes "the squeaky wheel get's the oil".

[monsoon]

I think that Raleigh is more easily identified with being in NC than Charlotte.

[krazeeboi]

^Largely because it's the state capital and also because it's not located along the border.

[voyager12]

Our official limits may stop before the state line but in reality the Charlotte metro includes SC, which dilutes a truly Tarheel vibe. We might as well be on another planet to the folks in Raleigh. To most of them anything before Greensboro is not part of the state and they need the "NC" reminder when it comes to responding to our needs.

[monsoon]

^Largely because it's the state capital and also because it's not located along the border.

I was going to say because it is often mentioned on the Andy Griffin Show which I believe is the most watched sitcom globally over the last 5 decades. I don't think it has ever been off the air since the early 60s. Andy seems to have forgotten that Charlotte is closer to Mayberry than Raleigh.

[Jerseyman4]

Research Triangle Park (like IBM, Glaxo) and the 3 big universities (you know who they are) put Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill on the map by outsiders nationwide.

[803metlife]

When someone says Charlotte, I only think of one place. Are American citizens that geographically illiterate that they must include NC after the city. I mean really, how often have we heard about Charlotte in the news? What planet are people living on that they can't immediately associate Charlotte with....well North Carolina. Charleston is not known for it's abundance of corporate headquarters. When I think Charleston I think historic and glorious architecture and culture...such a wonderful city. The one in West Virginia doesn't even come to mind.

Now I'm going to be geographically illiterate myself and ask...what are the other major Charlottes in the US?

Believe it or not alot of people don't know where Charlotte is located. Those are the same morons who thinks S.C. and N.C. are basically one state. The reason we know so much about Charlotte and other S.E. cities because it's our region. Over time I think Charlotte will become a great name but there's alot of progressive cities in the Carolinas instead of one city outshining them all.

[voyager12]

Not a fan here, but Nascar is Charlotte's claim to fame. No one cares or knows about the bank HQs being here except those in the industry. The Nascar HOF will bring us closer to being Charlotte without the "NC".

[krazeeboi]

Our official limits may stop before the state line but in reality the Charlotte metro includes SC, which dilutes a truly Tarheel vibe. We might as well be on another planet to the folks in Raleigh. To most of them anything before Greensboro is not part of the state and they need the "NC" reminder when it comes to responding to our needs.

The Charlotte urbanized area also extends into SC. Before you know it, you won't know where Rock Hill ends and Charlotte begins.

[monsoon]

Research Triangle Park (like IBM, Glaxo) and the 3 big universities (you know who they are) put Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill on the map by outsiders nationwide.

Since we were talking about Raleigh, none of what you just mentioned except for NC State, (the lesser known of the 3 schools) are located in Raleigh.

[AuLukey]

Since we were talking about Raleigh, none of what you just mentioned except for NC State, (the lesser known of the 3 schools) are located in Raleigh.

How is our state's largest university "the lesser known?" NC State is known in college athletics in multiple programs nationally. Nationally, I feel Duke and CH are better known for their basketball teams but NCState trumps them both in football when it comes to recognition. But regardless of the actual city they are in, the Triangle hosts these three schools which I believe to be one single metro with two cores. The metro in general gets the focus over Charlotte.

A couple of my friends down here in Gainesville (where I am visiting at the moment) thought that both State and Chapel Hill were around Charlotte. They were amazed when I told them that I went to UNC "Charlotte." They are all now well educated on our state's many schools and cities. I refer to my university as Charlotte only when being introduced to new people down here. It helps avoid confusion. I also had to force them to watch the Panthers game which showed off the skyline, I was proud. Luckily the question of North or South Carolina never came up.

On a side note, it's a little hard to brag about our state's multi-metroed-ness to people in Florida.

[monsoon]

How is our state's largest university "the lesser known?" NC State is known in college athletics in multiple programs nationally. ...

Because most people could care less about football.. UNC is the oldest public university in the United States, and Duke is a top 10 B-school and well regarded medical research university.

[AuLukey]

Because most people could care less about football.

Which is precisely why nobody watches football, especially not the super bowl or the bowl games. Just because you and your friends don't like a particular activity doesn't mean that most Americans don't. Sometimes I get that opinion about autoracing or golf. But then I look at the big picture and realize that a lot of people do like it, it's just not my thing.

Before moving to North Carolina, I had heard of Duke, but not Chapel Hill (outside of their basketball program.)

[Jerseyman4]

Lot of people know NC State because of Jimmy Valvano

Because most people could care less about football.. UNC is the oldest public university in the United States, and Duke is a top 10 B-school and well regarded medical research university.

If you are referring to college football, that is not true. Of course if you reside in the Tri-State area, this holds true but the rest of teh country cares about college sports.

[krazeeboi]

Because most people could care less about football.

Maybe in North Carolina (particularly college football). It's pretty big everywhere else.

[monsoon]

The average accumulated attendance for all of the 1-A Football games is about 3.5 million/game. About 1.16% of the USA population. The 4 most popular televised bowl games managed to draw about 85M views combined. Assuming there are some repeat viewers here, then this falls far far short of the 150M that would make of 1/2 of this country. I would guess that with a far stretch, maybe 10% of the country is routinely interested in college football.

So I repeat my statement, most people are not interested in college football, and UNC and Duke University did not gain their reputations because of it which was originally asserted above.

[AuLukey]

I know it's a county, but I got a hoot from this tag while down in Gainesville.

I was listening to Good Charlotte at the time. Irony.

[rjp212]

America loves college football. There are just so many college football teams that alot of fans tend to avoid watching some of the championship games because their team is not in it.

[AuLukey]

America loves college football. There are just so many college football teams that alot of fans tend to avoid watching some of the championship games because their team is not in it.

This is true, I can't tell you the last time I watched a college football game (aside from the occasional bowl) that didn't involve UF. I'd like to see the percentages of people who attend operas, symphonies, heavy metal concerts, or white water rafting. I'm pretty sure none of those will amount to 10%. Heck, look at NASCAR, what percentage of Americans go to races? Nothing in this country gets the soul attention of every citizen, not college football, not the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or even the presidential ballot. That's what makes America so diverse. So to say that not every American like a certain thing is a given. Thus, you could say that most people aren't interested in museums either. There isn't a single past-time in America that the vast majority of people support.

[DigitalSky]

Tonight on SNL, they parodied the "Charlotte Motor Speedway" doing the Nascarettes... no use of NC!

[Neo]

I found it a bit funny that in the latest issue of Sierra Magazine (Sept/Oct 2006) on page 14 it discusses how Bank of America is giving out $3k checks. The article states, "Bank of America has begun handing out $3,000 checks to employees in Boston, Los Angeles, and Charlotte, North Carolina, who buy a hybrid car."

The article is about Bank of America who's HQ is here and we STILL cannot get rid of the NC attachment.