Much has been said recently, in this newspaper and elsewhere, about the kind of message this city's tepid support so far for the NFL's Tennessee Oilers sends to people elsewhere in these United States. Grave concern has been expressed over what others think of us, as if what we might think about ourselves was incidental and/or inconsequential compared to the city's national image.
It is possible, we suggest, that both advocates and detractors of the Oilers are suffering from a kind of myopia. To define a city's image so narrowly, on the basis of whether or not it supports a professional football team, is absurd. Are Los Angeles, Houston, or Cleveland less important as cities because they no longer have NFL franchises? Are Portland, Santa Fe, and Salt Lake City any less viable because they have never been so blessed?
Defining one's "major league" status on the basis of professional sports is risky business, especially in this fickle age, when athletic mercenaries flit from city to city almost as regularly as mediocre rock acts and Broadway touring companies. Let's not waste any more energy haggling over the Oilers. If we're looking to measure ourselves against others, let's look around for better yardsticks. Here's some we should be using:
* Last week Opera Memphis opened its 22nd season at the Orpheum, packing the house for a production of Madame Butterfly that veteran observers insist was among the best ever staged in this city. Under Michael Ching's leadership, Opera Memphis has firmly established itself as perhaps the best regional opera company in the South, "major league" in every sense of the word.
* This week, the curtain came down on another indisputably class act: the Wonders Series' Titanic exhibition. Drawing record crowds to The Pyramid, this latest installment raised national awareness of the Wonders series to new levels, insuring that Americans everywhere will continue to think of Memphis when thinking of cities that sponsor blockbuster cultural events.
* Within a few weeks, ground will be broken on the new Memphis AAA baseball stadium downtown, a state-of-the-art facility whose impact will stretch far beyond the baseball diamond. This will be professional sports with a difference, locally owned and operated, by a couple (Dean and Christie Jernigan) whose ultimate ambition is to turn the entire enterprise over to the citizenry. Something special? You bet.
* This weekend, the fourth annual Blues Ball will celebrate the music that gives this city its distinctive character, bringing together the entire community as perhaps no other event on the annual calendar does. Think such an event doesn't send the world a message?
Time out on the Oilers thing, okay? Let's settle back, as at a good halftime show, and take in the fine offerings that are for us and others to enjoy now and will be here to savor long after all the visiting teams have split the scene.
Major league is as major league does, and what we do or don't with some magnate's inflated expectations or his inflated pigskin has got nothing to do with it.