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I remember being in a Chicago restaurant one time some 20 years ago and the waitress being exceptionally nice and patient. She wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere or get my order out of her way but rather kept talking to me seeming to be genuinely interested in the conversation.
I remember thinking to myself, oh, I’m in the Midwest and this is what people mean when they say people are nicer there than on the East Coast where I have lived my entire life in not the most soothing interpersonal places, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.
I wondered why they’re nicer out there in what we refer to as “fly over country” – a condescending reference that East Coast people “fly over” the “less important” Midwest states to get to the more important cities of LA and San Francisco where all the supposed smartest, most sophisticated, wealthiest, and most powerful people lie. West Coast people see this the same way but from the opposite direction; they fly over the middle of the country to get to the important people in New York, Boston, and D.C.
I bring this up as I think about the women’s and men’s championship basketball games today and tomorrow. Iowa women from the Midwest will play South Carolina from the East Coast. Similarly, Purdue men from the Midwest will take on UConn from the Northeast.
I’m naturally drawn to rooting for both Midwest schools to win it all because I like nice people who aren’t abrasive and impatient. This is not to say, of course, all people in UConn and South Carolina are this way or people who lie there are. I’m generalizing a lot. Yet given a choice I’ll take the teams that come from places where there seem to be a higher percentage of kind and compassionate people who aren’t as self-centered and interpersonally insensitive.
UConn and South Carolina are dominant teams, but not interesting. We expect them to be loaded with talent and win it all and they probably will, but that’s not as compelling as an Iowa team led by Miss America, Caitlin Clark, from middle America, winning it all. It’s not as alluring as Purdue, out there in somewhere rural Indiana, relatively unnoticed and thought about much, taking down UConn, star-loaded program we hear about all the time that wins national titles consistently. Yawn and a half.
Not interesting. Not heart-warming. Not an underdog narrative. A nothing-burger emotionally. To be blunt, boring and uninspiring and not engaging.
As I watched a video yesterday of the Iowa women’s team jogging onto the court for practice in front of a packed stadium, the obvious finally hit me: This is a story like in the movie “Hoosiers.” They’re from a smallish place and they made it to the biggest stage led by a superstar, Clark, who is playing the role of Jimmy Chitwood. We loved that movie – one of the best sports films of all time — because the little school from a remote area rose up to take on the big boys for all the glory – and won the Indiana State championship.
Purdue’s story is similar. A big star, Zach Edey, is carrying his team from out yonder, to take on the big bad beasts from the East.
I guess I like underdog stories because I feel like one. There are so many people on the East Coast who are smarter, more educated, and better writers than me. I’m competing but they’re more talented.
I guess I like the Midwest because I know living on the East Coast can be tough. An abundance of curt, critical, short-tempered and insensitive people who are too often ensnared with the ambition to gain more power and influence – and money.
I’m sure there are these types of hyper selfish people in Iowa and Indiana, but my guess is not nearly as many.
I respect the Midwest ethic rooted in humility, family, treating people well and not being mean and manipulative.
Cockiness, I sense, isn’t as a big thing in the Midwest as the East Coast – and who likes cocky people?
Iowa’s coach Lisa Bluder exudes humility. A kind, classy woman who treats her players and media with respect. She’s dignified. It’s not about power with her. It’s about being a good person.
Same thing with Purdue coach Matt Painter. When was the last time you saw him acting like a jerk? It doesn’t happen.
I respect UConn coach Danny Hurley but don’t admire him quite as much because he has a tendency to be hot-headed and a touch full of himself and manipulative. In other words, he’s an East Coast guy who was born – you guessed it – in New Jersey.
A fan recently yelled at him during a game and he shot back that he had won a championship. I don’t think you’d see Painter or Bluder shouting that.
Look, I want the Midwesterners to win because I think they’re, on the whole, good people and it would be nice to see nice people cut down the nets rather than another crew of East Coast players and coaches who aren’t as easy to root for.
May the teams from places where people seem to be nicer win.
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Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
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