It’s a poorly kept secret that Bill Purcell is quietly supporting Karl Dean’s effort to become Nashville’s next mayor. At this week’s Night Out Against Crime event in Sylvan Park, Purcell had some fun on stage making his preference in the race a little clearer:

“Anyone who’s here with you here in Sylvan Park is definitely doing something right . . . I’m not involved in this [mayoral] race, but I do happen to see one candidate over there  [motioning to Dean].”

It should be noted that Dean opponent Bob Clement visited the event earlier in the evening, but there wasn’t much confusion about where Purcell’s loyalty lies. More than one attendee within my earshot noted the remarkable “coincidence” that Dean happened to show up only a few minutes before Purcell arrived.

[Note: Boy, does my camera phone struggle in the dark. Yikes.]

I heard 104.5 The Zone’s George Plaster share an inspiring story today about what the New York Sun has called the “uncommon tenacity” of Preds fans. According to Plaster, a local business recently purchased season tickets in the wake of many customers asking whether or not the company had Preds seats. Many of these customers, upon hearing that the company did not have tickets, turned around and took their business elsewhere. 

Plaster also noted that some fans have complained that they are waiting or declining to purchase tickets because they don’t see local businesses stepping up. According to George, now those businesses are. This is great news for Nashville and for the Preds.

The New York Sun, a daily similar to our own City Paper, has asked a question you might not expect to hear from a Manhattan newspaper: “Are the Nashville Fans Finally Winning One?”

[O]ver the course of the past few months, a coalition of fans and local businessmen, called Our Team Nashville, has stepped up with an all-hands-on-deck effort to save the Predators. They organized a rally on July 19th that had an enormous impact, drawing 7,500 fans and generating 750 season ticket sales . . .That hockey has taken a strong foothold in Nashville — previously considered a hotbed only for NASCAR, college football, and country music — is a sign of how much the city has changed, and also how much the Predators have changed the city.

“Downtown Nashville was never like it was today,” the CEO of Avenue Bank and the Our Team chairman, Ron Samuels, said. “People have short memories sometimes. Twenty years ago, you couldn’t find 50 people in downtown Nashville after dark. Today it’s a vibrant, active city. You’re talking about a business that has a direct annual economic impact of $50 million, and in terms of what Nashville’s become, it’s hard to find a business that’s had more impact than the Predators . . .”

[I]t’s heartwarming to see that the fans have had as much impact as they have on the process, and it bodes well for the team’s staying power. To welcome the 2003 draft attendees, signs were hung proclaiming Nashville to be a “Hockey Tonk Town,” and the Music City is proving itself to be just that. Like [former New York Ranger and current Pred Jed] Ortmeyer, who battled his way back from a pulmonary embolism last season, the Predators’ fans have demonstrated uncommon tenacity. As it turns out, Nashville is a perfect fit for hockey, just as the never-say-die Ortmeyer is a perfect fit for the Predators. It’s a match made in heaven.

Amen.