re: Seriously, if not Bham -- where should the SEC

This is true. Atlanta is it's own entity apart from Georgia. Atlanta is the Southeast's version of the Los Angeles area except that it has even less of an identity than L.A. Atlanta is a sprawling bloated soulless monster of a metro full of transplants with no identity. It's why it's considered one of the worst sports cities of all the major cities. The Braves are the only team with mass appeal because they've been a regional team much like the St Louis Cardinals are to a lot of Midwesterners. It's one of the reasons I have infinitely more respect for places like New Orleans and St Louis when it comes to sports cities. No doubt Atlanta is important but the place has absolutely no soul. New Orleans has more soul and character in a 10 block area than Atlanta has in it's entire metro. The rest of Georgia is no more special than Alabama or any other SEC state but they ride Atlanta's coattails. Georgiano have become so arrogant that they'very resorted to touting Augusta is some great metropolis.