A Love Letter from California.

From the department of completely expected So-Cal behavior...

LA Times T.J. Simers has written a thinly-veiled lambasting of Nebraska culture in his sports column. Read it here, then read on.

Now, I'm not going to fall into Simers' trap and fight back with arguments like, "We do have running water!" and "Not everyone here drives a tractor!" Come on, Nebraskans. We're smarter than that. And all of the "corn cobs" who read that article and think, "We'll show him when he gets here," are only setting themselves up to prove this guy right when they make over-zealous efforts to prove him wrong.

Here's why this article bugs me: his attacks rely on tired, outdated characteristics of Midwestern people. Oh, people from the coast think we live a simple life free of any modern amenities? Really? I hadn't heard. Thank you for blowing the lid off this hilarious stereotype. It's not the falsehood in these stereotypes that bothers me, it's the lack of originality. The problem is, advancements made by big city corporations have allowed smaller communities to modernize somewhat, thus somewhat narrowing the gap between small and large cities. This leaves big city people with a little less to pick on, and thus they fall back on the old standards, like Simers does in his column. Leaving Nebraska fans to sigh, for we've heard it all before. No matter how true or unture the statements may be -- they're just plain tired.

Maybe I should ask Mr. Simers' to show me a good time when I go to L.A. "Could you take me to a celebrity's home? Or can we go get frosted tips in our hair? I've always wanted $500 jeans! I wanna meet all the a-holes that live here, you're all a-holes right? And image-conscious douche bags! Don't forget about them. How much was that bottle of water? $5! Wow the cost of living here is really out of control." I'm sure Los Angelenos would roll there eyes at the cliche, which is exactly what I did as I read Simers' column.

If you're gonna attack Nebraska, go ahead. We do it here at Just Above Kansas all the time. But be funny and be unique. Failing to do so will cause me to believe that even an unoriginal hack - whose picture looks like he's constipated and who can only think of one insult to reuse over and over in a column about a state he doesn't know much about - can ascend to the position of LA Times sportswriter. And we wouldn't want to foster any negative stereotypes, would we?


Gotta go, someone's trying to steal the horse I rode in on.
.charlie