Name That Flyover City! — Jan 19, 2023

Here’s a review of this week’s questions:

1. What city is the birthplace of country music superstar Garth Brooks?
2. This city’s three downtown bridges are all painted yellow, in reference to the “Golden Triangle” that makes up its downtown area. What city is it?
3. What southern city is home to a university whose basketball program ranks second in all-time wins, with over 2300, and refers to its legion of fans as “Big Blue Nation”?

And here are the answers:

1. Tulsa, OK. Troyal Garth Brooks was born in February of 1962, in Tulsa, and named for his dad, a draftsman for an oil company. He learned guitar and banjo as a kid and was a star athlete in high school. While attending college at OSU, he was a bouncer at a local bar and started playing music with his band, Santa Fe, at nightspots around Stillwater. As his music career began in earnest, he drew on influences that he had picked up from his older siblings: country stalwarts like George Jones and Hank Williams, as well as pop music institutions like James Taylor and Billy Joel. After relocating to Dallas in 1989, he released his eponymous first album, which hit number two on the country charts and number 13 on the Billboard 200. There was no stopping Brooks from there, as he recorded and toured relentlessly until 2000. Each album and concert performance attracted more and more ecstatic fan reactions, resulting in Brooks becoming one of the world’s best-selling music artists, with more than 170 million records sold. He retired from recording and touring in 2000 and returned in 2005. He is a father, grandfather, husband to fellow country music superstar Trisha Yearwood, and currently lives outside of Tulsa, in Claremore, OK.
2. Pittsburgh, PA. A 1914 article in the “Saturday Evening Post” gave Pittsburgh’s “Golden Triangle” nickname national publicity. It was based on the magazine’s assessment that its real estate constituted “the most gilded land in the United States, having generated immense wealth.” Only natural, then, that the bridges that cross the “Three Rivers” into downtown Pittsburgh are painted yellow – or more accurately, “Aztec Gold.” The color is also a nod to the city’s color scheme of black and gold, originally drawn from the coat of arms for the family of William Pitt, the city’s namesake. Sports fans know that the black and gold color combination is emblazoned all over uniforms worn by Pittsburgh’s three professional sports teams – the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins.
3. Lexington, KY. Along with Kansas, Duke, and North Carolina, the University of Kentucky’s basketball program maintains an elite status in the sport. Since 1903, the Kentucky Wildcats have thrilled hoops fans in the city of Lexington, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the world. With eight national championships, 17 Final Four appearances, and more prominent graduate players in the NBA than one could possibly fathom, the program’s dominance in the sports world cannot be overstated. Its home court, located in downtown Lexington’s 20,000-seat Rupp Arena, consistently leads the country in home attendance, and is a beacon to the “BBN” (Big Blue Nation), the name bestowed upon the team’s legion of rabid fans. Current coach John Calipari is in his 13^th season with the Wildcats and has garnered six Final Four appearances and one national championship (2012) for the program.