When Words Collide, Sentences Form

The sphere of connectivity

This place cracks me up. Minnesota, that is. Minnesotans love to have a connection to things that are happening. For example, there is a claim on Sheryl Crowe because her Texas-bred husband-to-be used wheels on his bikes that were designed by someone in Minnesota. And they have a connection to Cyndi Sheehan because a local politician talked to her once. And now the connection transcends state borders. Either that, or Wisconsin is actually part of Minnesota and there are actually only 49 states, or Puerto Rico now counts as the 50th. Because if anyone has or had a connection to Wisconsin, Minnesota news likes to babble on and on about them, too.

Example #1: We are in Vikings territory. They are the "hometown" team...like it or not. The Packers play in Green Bay (Wisconsin) - many hours away. But the golden boy QB's new book "Farve" just came out - and you would think that he was born and raised just blocks from the capitol. Instead of being from Louisiana and playing in Green Bay - the arch rival of the locals. They are promoting the book here like he's wearing purple and gold every Sunday. Although based on his most recent performances against the Love Boat crew...maybe he is.

Example #2: We are claiming Dany Heatley of the Ottawa Senators of the NHL up here. Because Canadians have accents, too. Just kidding. Actually, apparently we get to claim him because he played collegiate hockey at the University of Wisconsin. If you are as confused as I was, I'll explain it for you...Wisconsin is next to Minnesota. I mean, you see residents of Houston claiming Louisiana State athletes all the time, right? Oh. I think we also get to claim Heatley because he continued his points streak against a team that had a Bloomington, MN native on it. Just in case Wisonsin and Minnesota sharing a border wasn't a good enough rationale.


On a different note regarding Minnesota sports...the midwest has a version of football played at smaller high schools called "9-man." The major difference is that this version has 9 players on the field instead of 11. The field is also a little smaller. I'm told that it is an amazing version of football, and reportedly some of the best football players in Nebraska history played 9-man. I just can't believe that they can't find TWO more kids to put on the field. And with all of the open land up here, there's gotta be enough space for a regulation football field.

posted by Steph @ 12:05 PM