My reason, too. I saw the Memphis channels in Finley, TN as a kid visiting my Grandparents. 
Back when I was going to chess tournaments, one of the annual events I always tried to make was the Mid-South Open in Memphis on Thanksgiving weekend.
Nashville TV stations will occasionally refer to the region in that way, too.
One of the neat things about Nashville (and probably dozens of comparable cities) is that if you draw a ring on the map with a 400 mile radius (or even 300) and with Nashville at its center, you can hit most of the major cities in the Eastern USA.
Maybe Kentucky. Not Indiana. Maybe Missouri. If Oklahoma has any “southern pride” maybe they would feel the name applies there, too.
I don’t recall seeing or hearing “Upper South” before, but I could accept that, I guess.
My deepest apologies to Georgia people! I had misremembered that Georgia doesn’t have a Gulf coast! Looking at a map (finally) I saw my error.
I should also say that I think of Texas as Deep South, because of its Gulf connection, but tend to keep it either to itself or part of the Southwest in my mind. Somebody, not necessarily Texan, might try a similar thread/poll on how the state is viewed by others.
Whenever I hear “Deep South” I always think of Little Nicky for some reason.
As a native Tennessean (and having resided in Chattanooga, M’boro, Nashville and Knoxville)…it’s complicated. 
Primary region is the South
- West TN has the Memphis area, which I’d call closer to the Deep South than anything else, but it also has upper West TN, which is more Midwestern.
- Nashville is mid-south
- Chattanooga is primarily mid-south, but has Appalachian links.
- Knoxville is similar to Chattanooga
- Upper East TN is much more strongly Appalachian
Tennessee = south.
Carry on 
I lump Eastern Texas in with Mississippi, Louisiana, and parts of Alabama in my mind in what I guess is the “Western Deep South”.
Texas is so big that it fits into four regions in my mind: the Deep South ends somewhere between Beaumont and Houston, the Panhandle down to lubbock and Wichita Falls is in the Great Plains region, somewhere past Midland is the start of Southwest, and the rest of Texas is just “Texas”.
Southeast.
Only part of it’s in Appalachia or the Tennessee Valley or the Mississippi Valley or the Ohio Valley or the Holston River Valley or whatever.
With all due respect to DoctorJ, I’m not sure that very many people know what ‘mid-South’ means. (I’ve spent more than half my life in Virginia without ever hearing the term ‘mid-South’ applied to it.) But it’s definitely not part of the deep South.
So Southeast is the most specific, well-understood designation that contains Tennessee.
Why can’t it be more than one?
It can and is, depending on the context and the individual’s intent at the time.
As I indicated early in the thread, I considered a multiple choice poll, but decided I was more interested in the “first reaction” votes to see what the composite view might be. There’s no disputing any of the choices, even Bubbaland, since they all make some level of sense. But my main curiosity was (and is) how the “general opinion” of where Tennessee fits into some sort of regional understanding might vary over the SDMB population. That picture is pretty clear at the moment and I’m pleased with the responses.
If this isn’t an adequate answer, I’ll try to clarify any other points. And I have no objection to another poll going up with multiple choice answers, if you wish to do so.
Here’s a summary:
South 63 62.38%
Southeast 10 9.90%
Mid South 9 8.91%
Appalachia 9 8.91%
Tennessee Valley 3 2.97%
Other (Please specify) 3 2.97%
East 1 0.99%
Deep South 1 0.99%
Mid West 1 0.99%
Ohio Valley 1 0.99%
Mississippi Valley 0 0%
Voters: 101
East Texas is certainly part of the Deep South. I know that for a fact because I grew up in NW Louisiana right on the Texas border. We always knew we were part of the Deep South and our Texan neighbors were exactly the same as us so they were too. Houston and Dallas are part of the South as well. The South starts to fade out about Forth Worth and then it is just Texas. I wouldn’t include Austin and certainly not San Antonio as part of the South.
Are you talking about Nick Saban, by any chance?
Buncha damn yankees answering the poll.
My Father, a Missourian by birth and Arkansan by where he raised his family, was teased by his Tennessean inlaws that Arkansas was not truly in the South.
He responded that Tennessee was as close to Mason-Dixon’s line as you could be without being North of it.
10-4, Bubba! (See post #6).
But, truth to tell, I’m happy to see the views of this region through the eyes of those not resident to the area. The thread was really meant to see how much “awareness” there may be for the region, and to what extent the state gets lumped in with the whole section of the country.
By the same logic, I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody from Delaware or Rhode Island (for instance) put up a similar thread about their state how precise I could be about labeling where those states fit into regions. And let’s not even talk about California!
A geography professor I once had called it the Upland South (along with southern rim of Kentucky, western North Carolina and Virginia, and southern West Virginia). So, I went with “other”.
Interesting how no one went with “Mississippi Valley”, even though the western third or so of the state clearly is in that region (if you want to call it a region). Even though Memphis is the state’s largest city, I’ll bet that most of us think of Nashville or Knoxville, or Cumberland Plateau or Smoky Mountain landscapes, before we think of Memphis or the Mississippi River, when we hear the word “Tennessee”
Northern Arkansas has been strongly Republican for a long time. There was even half-hearted talk about creating a N. Arkansas state because they are so far out of step with the rest of us.
IIRC my history, Arkansas had a very close vote on joining the Confederacy. We could have gone either way.
But, we’re still Southern.
I voted South, but only reluctantly because I don’t use the term Mid South.
Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to go to or though Tennessee, but my sister in Northern Georgia gets up there at times.
I can’t believe two people called it “Ohio Valley”! Geography fail.
More geography fail.
Nashville is one of the most “northern” southern cities I’ve ever been in. I attribute this to the large music industry there. I find Louisville, more southern than Nashville.
But Chattanooga and Memphis are definitely southern and you get a real Appalachian feel to Knoxville and the Tri-Cities