PARTING REMARKS: Outgoing Tiger football coach Tommy West bade a stormy farewell to the city Monday, saying fans should support the program more. He also made a call for better facilities to solve the perennial recruiting problem he and his predecessors have faced. “There is a negativity (here) like nowhere else I’ve coached,” West concluded.
 – PHOTO BY BILL DRIES

It’s often difficult being a sports fan around here, but the past two weeks have been especially brutal for Memphians.

The University of Memphis fired football coach Tommy West Monday after back-to-back outings in which the Tigers drew 4,117 fans for a nationally televised home game and then were shellacked on the road by Tennessee.

Allen Iverson, signed by the Memphis Grizzlies with hopes of boosting ticket sales and energizing the fan base, quit the team Saturday before hoisting a single shot at FedExForum.

Memphis Motorsports Park shut down Oct. 30 because of poor ticket sales, a lackluster economy and a failed bid to sell the facility.

Even the venerable Liberty Bowl game was downgraded by the Southeastern Conference (SEC) this fall, meaning a less qualified team from that conference will play here each year. These calamities are the latest in a series that has driven Bluff City sports fans to the doldrums in 2009.

Coach John Calipari last spring bolted for Kentucky with some of Memphis’ top recruits while the basketball program was stripped of its 2008 Final Four appearance. The local golf tournament is struggling to find a replacement title sponsor following the Stanford Financial fallout.

And though the Memphis Redbirds won the Pacific Coast League championship in September, they did so before paltry crowds at AutoZone Park. To top it off, the Redbirds’ management was overhauled this summer because of financial woes.

Even the Memphis skyline, with its signature boondoggle known as The Pyramid, is a constant reminder of the city’s heartbreaking athletic endeavors.

Has it ever been this bad in Memphis sports history? Sure, the city has endured low points before: Dana Kirk, Tic Price, the rise and fall of the USFL, failed NFL bids, noncompetitive U of M football and basketball teams, a dozen minor league teams that came and went.

The glass-half-full crowd will say there have never been so many sports options for area fans, including the city’s first professional franchise. But the realists can see that never have so many of the city’s embarrassments been at the forefront of the national news – at the same time.

Even before his departure from the Grizzlies, Iverson was viewed as a perennial all-star languishing with a forgotten franchise. The U of M is derisively called “Tiger High” by SEC fans whose schools boast lucrative television contracts and an ability to nab Memphis recruits and coaches.

Blame the constant negative press on message boards or the 24/7 news cycle. Blame the U of M’s failure to get into a big conference on the NCAA or the school’s lack of vision. Blame the Grizzlies’ blunders on an out-of-town owner or out-of-touch management. Blame low attendance at all events (except, perhaps, Tiger hoops) on the fact that Memphis residents are poorer than most or that the city’s population center is far from sporting venues.

No matter the reasons, however, Memphis is generally seen as a bad sports town. It ranks 47th on the Sporting News’ Best Sports City list, a notch behind San Francisco and a notch ahead of State College, Pa., in that publication’s recent poll.

Nashville, the bane of many Memphians’ existence because it landed the NFL’s Houston Oilers more than 10 years ago, ended up in a surprising 12th place, ranking in front of cities with franchises in all four major sports.

Of course, Memphis has had chances to move up the ladder at the collegiate and professional levels.

The U of M played in the national title game a year and a half ago and nearly won it all, but the Tigers’ rousing run to the championship was removed when the NCAA ruled Derrick Rose ineligible.

The Grizzlies defied lottery odds by winning the rights to select second in last year’s NBA draft, creating the most excitement in town since the team arrived from Vancouver in 2001. The buzz grew when the team signed future Hall of Famer Iverson to a one-year deal. Ticket and jersey sales soared, giving the beleaguered franchise a shot in the arm.

But Grizzlies’ pick Hasheem Thabeet has been underwhelming and is now injured, and it seems Iverson, coming off a preseason injury, might prefer retirement to being a Grizzly.

Sports can embarrass a city, but they also can enliven it. While some will see the recent bad news as more proof that Memphis is a bad sports town that should fade away, some see signs of life, a chance for someone to step forth and – to borrow sports parlance – hit the game-winning shot.

The promise of better days remains for Memphis fans who hope the U of M is invited to the Big East Conference, who hope the Grizzlies land – and keep – at least one star player, who hope corporations like FedEx keep saving the day by pumping money into local teams and arenas.

Tigers basketball coach Josh Pastner is bringing a stellar recruiting class to Memphis next season. Tiger football has a chance to rebound with the hiring of a good coach and the administration’s pursuit of better facilities. And the Grizzlies might succeed with the steady improvement of young talent and management making smarter on- and off-court decisions.

Meanwhile, maybe a buyer will emerge for the Memphis Motorsports Park; maybe a corporate sponsor will see the value of the annual golf tournament; and maybe the Redbirds will get back on track with better leadership.

Local sports fans may have fallen on hard times, as they have before and likely will again, but we’re not known as the Home of the Blues for nothing. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be Memphis.