Hey there fellow Heater Fans, it’s been a while since my last post. Life has a funny way of taking time away faster than we like and so that I haven’t had the time to post. Not much to report on other than the new facebook group “The Back Streets of Sparta” has started and from what I have seen, is a great way for us heater fans to communicate. This could prove to be a very useful forum for organizing future Heat functions.
I have seen where there wasn’t quite the turn out for Heat related functions in Sparta aka Covington Ga. With the younger generation having never seen our beloved series I can understand, just take a look at the Vampire Diaries. Covington is able to capitalize due to the younger folks being involved with the show. Rightfully so as they are still filming it there. There are only a hand full of places to actually see things from ITHOTN left. So much has changed since Heat was filmed that only us dedicated fans notice. How do we get the younger people to get in on it? I know there are several fans that watch the reruns on WGN, younger fans that remember their grandparents, parents or other family members who could always tell you when the new episode of heat was airing, but as the day comes to a close, we are still a selected few in comparison to other hit shows. My personal thoughts are that it is still my all time favorite show that only a few can even come close to.
I will always remember the show, and how great this lost treasure truly is. If all of us Heater Fans will get behind the folks in Covington Ga and support them in hosting a great reunion, tour, or whatever events they plan, it could be a chance for all of us to maybe enjoy one weekend a year of Heatness. I can only imagine a weekend dedicated to where the whole town square is nothing but Heat fans. Walking around looking at different sites, talking to the folks who were part of the production, getting the stars to make an appearance and sign autographs & speak. Maybe even a few photo ops as well, but it will take time and commitment from the fans to encourage them to build such an event. When I visited Covington a couple of years ago I was in awe as I stood in the square and remembered seeing that very spot on TV as a kid. I was taken back to the days where the Chief, Bubba, and the rest of the cast brought Sparta to life on TV. The old water tower that was shown in the episode “Hattons Turn” was still displaying SPARTA, though the years had been rough on it, you could still see the letters shining through.
If you have never visited Sparta aka Covington, I urge you to plan a trip. They have maps that you can pick up at the visitors center that have a ton of sites where filming was done. Trust me, you can tour all day and not see all the Heat sites. Please remember that if you do plan a trip to tour these sites, that most are private property and please respect the owners by not venturing onto their property. I am sure that most won’t mind with permission as everyone that I met there were awesome and very hospitable. It was amazing to see how much had changed and how much had not.
Ok so getting back on point, I am still working on the site updates. I am also interested in hearing from other heat fans as to content for this site. Being as I do not get to post as often as I would like, this will help in getting more things to post. Also if there are any events going on that we are not aware of, feel free to drop a note to me as I would love to let all heaters know about.
Well until next time, I will try to keep in the loop and get the new updates finished and keep writing these little blogs so that Heat Nation will keep informed.