Originally Posted by
15fan
Don't lose sight of the original question.
"the real question is: Where are the best places for sports fans to live?"
In addition to the MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA access, you've also got very easy access to both SEC and ACC sports, including things like the SEC football championship game and SEC and ACC basketball tournaments. They sell out the Dome every year for the Peach / Chik-Fil-A Bowl, which usually ends up being one of the better non-BCS bowls during bowl season.
In the decade+ since I've lived here, the Super Bowl, multiple Final Fours, and 3 of the 4 All-Star games have been here. Probably the most storied golf tournament on the continent is a Tiger Woods driver due east in Augusta. If you're into car racing (I'm not), Talladega is a stone's throw west. 2 hours max in just about any direction gets you to multiple SAL or Southern League games if you dig minor league baseball. Like running? World's largest 10K is here, and it's a blast regardless of whether you run or spectate. Like some of the more obscure sports? Pro Beach Volleyball makes a stop here each summer, there's an Arena Football team in Gwinnett, and the Tour de Georgia will let you get your bike racing fix. If you dig hiking, mountain biking, etc, a 90 minute drive gets you into the Appalachians.
About the only thing that the city doesn't have is pro tennis. And I've never understood why there isn't a tour stop here (aside from the lack of a venue). ALTA (local rec tennis league) is massively popular here. It's crazy the number of people who play tennis in this area. I'd have to imagine that a stop here would draw quite well.
The local teams don't get a whole lot of support because (1) generally they're pretty lousy, and (2) most people who live here didn't grow up here. But if you are a sports fan in the generic sense and want a wide variety of opportunities, this is a great place to be.
Edit: And if there's a sporting event in another part of the country that you want to go to, catching a direct and/or cheap flight is pretty easy. 2.5 hours on a plane gets you to Miami/Boston/Denver and anywhere in between.