I agree it would be a more appropriate nickname for Maryland or Delaware because of their association with the Chesapeake Bay. Massachusetts needs an original nickname.

Yeah Mass has Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay but I think the nickname is better suited for Maryland as the Chesapeake Bay has a much more dominant presence on the states topography

It's ok, I guess. It is evocative and a favorable image.

It was originaly known as the Massachusetts bay colony. Sort of bland. I mean, yeah, there is a huge bay there, but still.

Nothing special about it but I could say that about most of these lame nicknames. The name comes from the fact that the state (before it split with Maine) was called Massachusetts Bay.

This name doesn't really work since many people would probably think of the Chesapeake Bay, or the Bay Bridge if they were chosen to associate a place with the word bay, before they would think of Massachusetts.

Or as it could also be known, the If We Can't Elect a Kennedy We Just Won't Vote State. (When Ted Kennedy dies, I fully expect them to send his corpse to DC. Of course, it will be so well preserved no one will notice for years.)