Map-Quest

I love maps; always have.

In my high school years, when kids were running away from a course called ‘geography’ in droves, I happily registered for it. In fact, since I took the course as a freshman, and had it during first period, it was actually my first high school class. 

My dad has always loved maps, too. Maybe we attribute this to the fact that we were both amateur radio operators when I was a kid? When I would make a contact with some other ham – in Topeka, KS or Manchester, NH or Holly Springs, MS – I’d quickly look up that city.

Frequently, I will buy an updated version of a United States atlas (even though, for years, you’ve been able to Map-Quest your driving directions at various internet locations).

Call me a map nerd, I guess.

Maps are indeed everywhere and within the last 24 hours, I’ve noticed a bunch of them. Here are some of my recent findings: 

Fall Foilage –

As the calendar turns to October tomorrow, fall-lovers such as myself (and my lovely wife) turn their attention to the explosion of colors that takes place in the trees over the next few weeks.

If you join my appreciation for autumn, you might like to check out this map published on Smokymountains.com. The map includes a dialing feature in which you can slide the date forward to a certain point on the calendar and see the projected peak fall color for your county.

http://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map/

Checker Neyland –

And speaking of colors, you’ve probably heard of the push to ask fans to wear a specific color – orange or white – so the crowd at Neyland Stadium for Saturday’s Florida game forms the pattern of a checkerboard stadium-wide.

This, of course, is a different ‘take’ on the notion of a map.

Still, it’s pretty cool. You can plug in your section, row and seat and find out the color you are asked to wear on Saturday.

http://checkerneyland.com

Mid-term Elections -

If you are a political aficionado, you might be interested in seeing this latest map of the country (color coded as Red State/Blue State) outlining the forecast for the fall elections for the U.S. Senate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/09/29/the-odds-of-republicans-winning-the-senate-are-growing/

Back to Sports
If you’re tired of the whole politics thing – or just not interested – let’s turn our attention back to sports. Two interesting maps caught my eyes last night.

NFL

First, a map produced by Dick’s Sporting Goods shows the most popular teams, by state, based on jersey sales. Fortunately, the home-standing Titans did come in first in our state! Of course, in the past, the Colts would have made a strong push and these days, you’d think we were a Denver Broncos market! (I think we are).

There are some interesting state alliances on the map. Check it out if you love such facts as I do: 

http://www.dsg.com/jerseyreport/football/charts/rankings/player/overall/season 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/which-nfl-jersey-is-the-most-popular-in-each-state–glad-you-asked-190314135.html

MLB

The following map, which I may have mentioned back in the spring when it came out, chronicles baseball fandoms based on Facebook preferences. Somehow, it cycled back around today.

Of specific note, I think, is the breakout maps that show the dividing lines between team zones: the Mid-Atlantic line between Orioles Country and Nationals Nation or the California boundaries that divide Padres, Dodgers, Angels, A’s and Giants.

As MLB postseason gets underway, it’s another way to show who the most successful teams are – at least in terms of attracting fans in the stands even as they try to win games on the dirt and grass.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/23/upshot/24-upshot-baseball.html?_r=1&abt=0002&abg=1

JG

Originally posted 9/30/2014