Living in a so-called “flyover state” that has quite the reputation can be a little beleaguering, I know. We can be painted a bit like a caricature — a bit cartoonish — and that makes Wisconsinites a little defensive about some of the things the rest of the world believes about us. I get it — no one likes to be the butt of the joke.
That being said, there’s a few things we Wisconsinites are rather defensive about that are actually kind of undeniably true. Like it or not, we’ve earned some of our stereotypes the hard way, not just by reputation. There’s a whole lot of Midwestern kindness and charm here, but you can really rile up a crown of us with some of these. Here are 11 things Wisconsinites will totally deny, but are actually kind of true:
- WE DON’T HAVE AN ACCENT!
Wikihow In all honesty, this list could have just centered around this. We are so in denial about our nasally vowels, it’s almost charming. Nowhere else do they carry their groceries in a bayyyyyyg quite the way we do here. Folks have called me out on here before for saying “y’all,” but that was one of the first things I picked up when I moved away from Wisconsin because saying “you guys” in our accent is really just asking for folks to laugh at you.
- We’re weirdly proud to be from Wisconsin.
Facebook/UWMadison I’ve never encountered this type of self-love anywhere else but Texas. I’ve been told it’s not that bad, but we love saying where we’re from, no matter where we are.
- The weather here isn’t as bad as everyone thinks it is.
SomeECards I know we’re used to it, but the fact that we can experience all four seasons in a week in April or September is pretty good proof that the weather here is a little bit nuts.
- Deer hunting isn’t that big a deal.
Flickr/KarenApricot States that love hunting as much as we do don’t use the words “deer hunter’s widow.” That’s how serious it is here. If you weren’t paying attention in school, you’d still know deer hunting weekend because the classroom would be nearly empty. Deer hunting takes more preparation than the actual holidays and is at least twice as serious.
- We’re obsessive tailgaters.
Flickr/LenHardy Folks like to say “Aw geez, I can go to a Packers or Brewers game without tailgating” and while that’s true, we’ll also look for pretty much any opportunity or reason to fire up a grill and drink a few cold ones outside.
- We’re beer snobs….
Flickr/Sally Jacobs
…and custard snobs….
Flickr/RichardHurd
…and cheese snobs.
Flickr/WIDNR I like to pretend I’m a pretty mellow person, but nothing brings out my protective instincts like someone claiming a preference for Vermont Cheddar or Michigan beer. We claim to be nice Midwesterners, but disparage some of our best products and all hell’s about to break loose.
- We’re brats about our brats.
Flickr/JonRoling Sure, you’d probably eat any brat someone put in front of you (especially if you’ve ever lived anywhere else and learned what it’s like to live a life sans brats). But don’t pretend you don’t have a favorite brand who’s honor you would fight to the death over. (There probably aren’t brats at Renaissance Faires in other parts of the country.)
- We’re Packers obsessed.
Flickr/Nick Long “I don’t own anything made of foam cheese” is a point of pride for some folks, but it’s difficult to deny that the Packers reign supreme in Wisconsin. When the Brewers were in the playoffs in 2008 and 2011, their games were relegated to secondary channels on radio and TV and people would be in the stands at Miller Park listening to the Packers on the radio.
- We’ve got a bit of an inferiority complex.
Flickr/MarkDanielson This one hurts. I do think it’s improved significantly, but we do tend to really hammer home on the things that we think make us better than Minnesota and Illinois. Whether we’re picking on the Gophers and Bears, trying to prove we’ve actually got more lakes or jumping in any conversation about Chicago to prove why life up here is better, we’ve still got a bit of that underdog mentality.
- Nobody ever leaves/Everyone here knows everyone else.
Flickr/KateGardiner The universities actually made a push recently to try and curb some brain drain, as lots of Wisconsinites were seeking greener pastures, so this one isn’t totally true. But tie our propensity to stay (or return) home with Wisconsin’s small-town feel and you start getting the feeling that folks in the biggest city call “Small-waukee.” It feels like everyone here seems to either know one another or be related. Even when you’re traveling to the ends of the earth, you run into Wisconsinites you know. It wouldn’t be “Six degrees of Kevin Bacon” here — it would be two or three.
- We’re rabid fans.
Flickr/MikeMorbeck Not-as-inclined to sports Wisconsinites can get exasperated by the idea that the Dairy State is sports-obsessed, but most folks here call the teams “we.” And we all know that the absolute best time to run errands is on a Sunday afternoon during Packer season — the streets and stores are empty. Folks wear their Packer and Badger gear to church and plan weddings around football season. Sorry folks — you might not be a sports nut, but collectively, Wisconsin sure as heck is.
What other things do you think we are a bit in denial about? Let us know in the comments. Looking for more Wisconsin-based humor? Check out 15 Phrases That Will Make You Swear Wisconsinites Have Their Own Language.
Wikihow
In all honesty, this list could have just centered around this. We are so in denial about our nasally vowels, it’s almost charming. Nowhere else do they carry their groceries in a bayyyyyyg quite the way we do here. Folks have called me out on here before for saying “y’all,” but that was one of the first things I picked up when I moved away from Wisconsin because saying “you guys” in our accent is really just asking for folks to laugh at you.
Facebook/UWMadison
I’ve never encountered this type of self-love anywhere else but Texas. I’ve been told it’s not that bad, but we love saying where we’re from, no matter where we are.
SomeECards
I know we’re used to it, but the fact that we can experience all four seasons in a week in April or September is pretty good proof that the weather here is a little bit nuts.
Flickr/KarenApricot
States that love hunting as much as we do don’t use the words “deer hunter’s widow.” That’s how serious it is here. If you weren’t paying attention in school, you’d still know deer hunting weekend because the classroom would be nearly empty. Deer hunting takes more preparation than the actual holidays and is at least twice as serious.
Flickr/LenHardy
Folks like to say “Aw geez, I can go to a Packers or Brewers game without tailgating” and while that’s true, we’ll also look for pretty much any opportunity or reason to fire up a grill and drink a few cold ones outside.
Flickr/Sally Jacobs
Flickr/RichardHurd
Flickr/WIDNR
I like to pretend I’m a pretty mellow person, but nothing brings out my protective instincts like someone claiming a preference for Vermont Cheddar or Michigan beer. We claim to be nice Midwesterners, but disparage some of our best products and all hell’s about to break loose.
Flickr/JonRoling
Sure, you’d probably eat any brat someone put in front of you (especially if you’ve ever lived anywhere else and learned what it’s like to live a life sans brats). But don’t pretend you don’t have a favorite brand who’s honor you would fight to the death over. (There probably aren’t brats at Renaissance Faires in other parts of the country.)
Flickr/Nick Long
“I don’t own anything made of foam cheese” is a point of pride for some folks, but it’s difficult to deny that the Packers reign supreme in Wisconsin. When the Brewers were in the playoffs in 2008 and 2011, their games were relegated to secondary channels on radio and TV and people would be in the stands at Miller Park listening to the Packers on the radio.
Flickr/MarkDanielson
This one hurts. I do think it’s improved significantly, but we do tend to really hammer home on the things that we think make us better than Minnesota and Illinois. Whether we’re picking on the Gophers and Bears, trying to prove we’ve actually got more lakes or jumping in any conversation about Chicago to prove why life up here is better, we’ve still got a bit of that underdog mentality.
Flickr/KateGardiner
The universities actually made a push recently to try and curb some brain drain, as lots of Wisconsinites were seeking greener pastures, so this one isn’t totally true. But tie our propensity to stay (or return) home with Wisconsin’s small-town feel and you start getting the feeling that folks in the biggest city call “Small-waukee.” It feels like everyone here seems to either know one another or be related. Even when you’re traveling to the ends of the earth, you run into Wisconsinites you know. It wouldn’t be “Six degrees of Kevin Bacon” here — it would be two or three.
Flickr/MikeMorbeck
Not-as-inclined to sports Wisconsinites can get exasperated by the idea that the Dairy State is sports-obsessed, but most folks here call the teams “we.” And we all know that the absolute best time to run errands is on a Sunday afternoon during Packer season — the streets and stores are empty. Folks wear their Packer and Badger gear to church and plan weddings around football season. Sorry folks — you might not be a sports nut, but collectively, Wisconsin sure as heck is.
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
