By Bryan Fazio
The Valdosta Daily Times
July 24, 2008 10:47 pm
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VALDOSTA — As the first full day of voting for TitleTown USA came and went Thursday, Valdosta hit its keyboards hard.
Several community members called into The Valdosta Daily Times, stating they voted several times, one boasting of a thousand selections of Valdosta as TitleTown USA.
While such enthusiasm is what makes Valdosta such a strong case for the designation of TitleTown USA, only one vote is counted from each Internet Protocol (IP) address.
Every computer connected to the Internet is given a unique IP address that identifies it from all other computers online.
“Fans can vote one time per computer throughout the duration of the voting,” an ESPN press release stated.
Although more than one vote seems to be sent per computer, the tallying computer at ESPN creates a log for each IP address and blocks out more than one vote.
As just one vote counts, it makes it all the more crucial for entire communities to vote for its town to win. Valdosta is such a community, even reaching past its borders, as all of Georgia is getting involved.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue issued a proclamation last week, and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle also urged the state to support Valdosta.
“Being selected as one of the 20 ESPN TitleTown finalists is truly an honor for Valdosta and our entire state,” Cagle said. “I’ve been spreading the word and calling into sports talk radio shows asking all Georgians to go online and vote for Valdosta. The response has been strong and I think we will see Georgia rally around Winnersville and soon we'll celebrate a victory.”
Valdosta is one of 20 finalists for ESPN’s TitleTown USA, joining the likes of Green Bay, Wisc.; Lawrence, Kan.; Pittsburgh; Knoxville, Tenn.; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Los Angeles; Palo Alto, Calif.; Louisville, Ky.; Chicago; Boston; Gainesville, Fla.; New York; Valdosta, Ga.; Detroit; San Francisco; Williamsport, Pa.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Columbus, Ohio; Parkersburg, W.Va.; and Massillon, Ohio.
The event has been running on SportsCenter each day since Green Bay, Wis., opened the promotion July 4, until Massillon, Ohio concluded it on July 23.
ESPN reporters and producers have been visiting each town, and feedback of Valdosta has been positive.
In an ESPN press release, Valdosta is mentioned in the top four attended tapings. The top four crowds were: More than 7,000 fans in Massillon, Ohio; 5,000 in Valdosta, Ga.; 4,000 in Parkersburg, W.Va.; and 2,000 in Lawrence, Kan.
Also Perdue and Cagle’s comments and movements were mentioned.
Voting continues today and will end Sunday afternoon. A winner will be announced during Monday’s 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter.
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