Moved to MN. Interesting observations

Most of my extended family is from the Twin Cities. Minnesotans are generally proud of their state and see themselves as an outdoorsy and enlightened/progressive bunch culturally in comparison to their neighbors in WI, IA, and the Dakotas.

They wear Gopher gear proudly more to represent pride in their Minnesota citizenship and/or support for the University as a quality institution of some notable prestige, as opposed to a symbol of serious fandom of U of M athletics from a competitive standpoint. In that sense they are a good fit in the Big Ten because the holier than thou mentality of the conference suits them.

In some deep almost subconscious sense, Minnesotans feel it is beneath them to get too caught up in the dirty business of CFB competition, when a state of their stature has a pro football franchise to channel that irrational passion into. They also love hockey and have natural beauty to enjoy which uses up a lot of bandwidth for other passions, and what is left over for football is set aside exclusively for the Vikings.

When you spend enough time around Minnesotans, you kind of get where that mentality comes from. But as a proud Iowan and Cyclone, I don't really have much respect for it. Especially when most of the Vikings roster would rather be anywhere else if they had the choice. Also, CFB is awesome.
 
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Moved to Fort Collins 2 1/2 years ago and have been to 3 CSU games this year. Game atmosphere isn’t great. Went to the Boise State game Saturday and stadium was maybe half full. Bought tickets Saturday morning for $25 on the 30 yard line row 9 lower level.
Is there ever a Cyclone game day watch here in Fort Collins?

The gal that hosted the Fort Collins game watches moved to Denver last year. There was talk about doing one for the Texas game but that may have fizzled out now. The game watch was at Prost.
 
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Most of my extended family is from the Twin Cities. Minnesotans are generally proud of their state and see themselves as an outdoorsy and enlightened/progressive bunch culturally in comparison to their neighbors in WI, IA, and the Dakotas.

They wear Gopher gear proudly more to represent pride in their Minnesota citizenship and/or support for the University as a quality institution of some notable prestige, as opposed to a symbol of serious fandom of U of M athletics from a competitive standpoint. In that sense they are a good fit in the Big Ten because the holier than thou mentality of the conference suits them.

In some deep almost subconscious sense, Minnesotans feel it is beneath them to get too caught up in the dirty business of CFB competition, when a state of their stature has a pro football franchise to channel that irrational passion into. They also love hockey and have natural beauty to enjoy which uses up a lot of bandwidth for other passions, and what is left over for football is set aside exclusively for the Vikings.

When you spend enough time around Minnesotans, you kind of get where that mentality comes from. But as a proud Iowan and Cyclone, I don't really have much respect for it. Especially when most of the Vikings roster would rather be anywhere else if they had the choice. Also, CFB is awesome.

Probably explains why so many of the Vikings players choose to remain in the TC after their playing days are over. Kevin Garnett did the same.
 
I said I moved to MN and my Cyclone brethren basically come out and say how much MN sucks. Thanks guys.

You can choose to believe some that say it sucks, but there are others including me saying the opposite. Take some time living here and make your own conclusion. :)
 
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Outside of Iowa, Minnesota has the most ISU alumni.

The top 10: Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, California, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, Florida.
i would have guessed TX in there. Kudos to their their Alumni groups, especially DFW.
 
I said I moved to MN and my Cyclone brethren basically come out and say how much MN sucks. Thanks guys.

We moved to MN a few years ago and will never leave. Great public schools, friendly neighbors, lots to do outdoors. Winter is all about mindset and a positive attitude. I am of the opinion that if you live here voluntarily, you shouldn't ***** about the weather. Get the right gear and get outside to enjoy it. I've lived in other more southerly Midwestern states and feel lucky to have so many outdoor activities at our fingertips year round.

As far as college football fandom, our neighborhood seems mostly dominated by Badger fans second to Gophers. My in-laws are big Gopher fans and season ticket holders, we both despise Iowa and want to see each other succeed so it works out fine. I do see Cyclone and Hawkeye stickers on vehicles pretty regularly but it seems pretty evenly split in my experience.
 
Both of you r a riot. I am from MN but moved down here 20+ yrs ago and would love to get back. Minnesotans (at least a majority) don’t care about saying the pledge of allegiance daily, don’t want everyone and their brother carrying handguns, respect gay marriage and LBGTQ community, care about the quality of their water and environment and r not beholden to Big Ag. As many on here have said before, Iowa is becoming the new Mississippi and that is not a good thing. MN will never become a new ‘Alabama’.
Lulz what? How did you infer this from my post? I'm just pointing out the experience I had when I lived in Minnesota. I actually really enjoyed my time and there are plenty of things that I preferred there over Iowa. Again I moved back to Iowa for family reasons.

I must say the people saying this is turning into a "bash MN" thread is kind of proving my point. Saying anything other than "MN/Twin Cities" is the best and there are no draw backs is considered "bashing." Got it.
 
I am reading more into the "i lived there and couldn't wait to leave", "minnesotans are so full of themselves", and "they think their **** doesn't stink" comments are driving my disappointment in this thread.

Comments about the weather, pro sports, or anything along the lines of criticisms there seemed totally valid. It's the comments about judging an entire population based on your experience that seemed a little misplaced.

My car got totaled in a storm. I drove my new car to a friend's house and he said, "You got a new car? I would have never gotten white. I think white cars are ugly."

That's how I see this thread. Giving an opinion about something that's great but judging people based on anecdotal evidence and assuming everyone is like them doesn't really "prove the point".
This is fair.

I was struck with how no one seemed to every invite others over to their house for dinner, BBQs, etc. I thought it was just my neighbors but all of the lifelong Minnesotans at work - a lot of them - confirmed without prompting that this is a very real thing. We invited a lot of our neighbor friends over for dinner, a BBQ, a bonfire, etc. on multiple occasions. They were happy to come over and were very much our friends but we got only one return invite after countless invites on our part. Only one, that is except for our neighbors across the street. The difference there is those neighbors are originally from Wisconsin.
 
I am reading more into the "i lived there and couldn't wait to leave", "minnesotans are so full of themselves", and "they think their **** doesn't stink" comments are driving my disappointment in this thread.

Comments about the weather, pro sports, or anything along the lines of criticisms there seemed totally valid. It's the comments about judging an entire population based on your experience that seemed a little misplaced.

My car got totaled in a storm. I drove my new car to a friend's house and he said, "You got a new car? I would have never gotten white. I think white cars are ugly."

That's how I see this thread. Giving an opinion about something is great but judging people based on anecdotal evidence and assuming everyone is like them doesn't really "prove the point".

Give me a break you guys. Its a few anecdotal comments on interactions I had with locals over the years.
Were they all like that? No? Did there seem to be an abundance of the interactions I had? Yes. Do I hate everyone from MN? No. Again. Loved my time there and I have many of friends and family there. Sorry you inferred that from my post. Where's the "Lighten Up, Francis" gif when you need it.
 
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I was at the Mall of America on Saturday and it was more like 25-1 in favor of the Hawkeyes apparel.



I go to every MNUFC home game, it's really fun in the stadium. I think the Vikings and Twins are "default" apparel for people who wants something but aren't huge sports fans.


Was there free beer and bathroom sex at the mall?
 
The Twin Cities are great for the most part. So many cool areas, restaurants, bars, outdoor stuff, culture, etc.. But the traffic kind of sucks.
 
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I remember being in downtown Minneapolis in 1989. I met my uncle for lunch, he was a lawyer from Des Moines up there on business. He made the comment to me, "I can't stand Minneapolis lawyers, they dress and act like they are from Manhattan". So yeah, people up there are full of themselves. I lived up there for 5 years, liked it, but the people were a little arrogant, especially towards those from Iowa.
You need to cut them a little slack about their attitudes about Iowa. The main exposure they get r Hawkeye fans coming up games and doing things like tearing down a goalpost and trying to get it thru a revolving door or going at it in a public restroom. Also used to see a ton come up to fish and most would be decked out in Hawk gear and go full tavern hawk.

Growing up my only exposure to Iowa was my tavern hawk uncle who nurtured my hatred for Iowa. When I moved down here in 91 I found another side which is not seen very often north of the boarder.
 
I remember being in downtown Minneapolis in 1989. I met my uncle for lunch, he was a lawyer from Des Moines up there on business. He made the comment to me, "I can't stand Minneapolis lawyers, they dress and act like they are from Manhattan". So yeah, people up there are full of themselves. I lived up there for 5 years, liked it, but the people were a little arrogant, especially towards those from Iowa.

Wait...so based on a comment about how one profession dresses said by one person, Minnesotans are full of themselves? Making sure I have that right because it's a laughable statement. If you're saying SOME people are full of themselves up here, sure not one person can argue that. But that also can be said about literally any city in the world. That's like me saying 'Iowans are arrogant because once I went to Iowa City and this doctor drove a car like he's from LA...man Iowans are full of themselves.' See how stupid that is?
 
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