For the past few years we’ve been putting our own Southern spin on March Madness. Last year, it was the Battle of the Brands, a bracket-style matchup of the South’s classic food and drink brands going head-to-head for reader votes. (Duke’s mayo made a good run, but Krispy Kreme took the title.) This year, though, we’re putting the spotlight on some of the South’s favorite places with the
2014 Greatest Southern Towns Bracket.
With so many great towns in Dixie, we couldn’t possibly hit them all. But after much heated debate, we’ve put together a bracket of 32 of the South’s finest. For the record, we kept it to towns, not cities, capping the population at 150,000 (sorry Atlanta, Nashville, and Dallas). There are historic towns such as Charleston and St. Augustine, artsy towns (Athens, Bentonville), college towns (Oxford, Chapel Hill), and just about everything in between. All told, fourteen states are represented. And as always, the winner is up to you.
Vote now for your favorites in ROUND ONE. You can vote once a day during each round. The towns with the most votes by Monday, March 24, will move on to ROUND TWO. Want to make a pitch for your favorite? Sound off on Twitter using the hashtag
#SOUTHERNTOWNS. Then stay tuned over the next couple of weeks as the field narrows all the way to a 2014 champ. We’ll announce the winner on April 4.
