I really enjoyed the article. The part about charm and preconceptions had me thinking a bit. Even though I am a born and raised Ohioan, I lived two years in southern Louisiana. People sometimes have their own preconceptions of the south, but I have never met a group of more charming, laid back people in all my life. And I think those feelings are akin to what the author has encountered.
I don't believe he is "sucking up" in any way, any more than someone who raves nonstop about their most recent holiday destination and exclaims "I will live there someday!" even though they wont. It's a sort of falling in love, the way most UKYers had with the UK.