OH YEAH?!? WELL YOU'RE HAIR IS FUNNY.

My biggest pet peeve is sterotypes. Thankfully - racial and gender stereotypes are taboo in today's culture so I don't have to hear them that much - even if someone is thinking them. The one I do hear most often is about West Virginia (the state where I am from) and how the people there are hillbillies.

Most often, I hear it in a situation that deals with sports. Like last night - West Virginia University beat Wake Forest in the NCAA tournament game. And today, I read on message boards that we didn't deserve to win because we are hillbillies, or hicks, or backwoods inbreds, or whatever. It just doesn't make sense. I founf it funny, because making fun of the state is a last gasp effort when they have nothing else to criticize.

"Hey we won yipee!"
"Yeah? Well..... that shirt doesn't match those shoes."

That's what the exchange sounds like to me. I read that it was a thrilling win for WVU, not because we won, but because West Virginia just got color television last week. And that is supposed to hurt? It was in response to a WV being nice - saying the game was a classic and what not. I wonder if the irony is lost on everyone, that the person telling us that we are so behind the times is responding to a post from WV on an internet message board? "We ain't got no TV, but we love our dang innernet!"

I guess what I find a little amusing as well, is that it is a college game. Not everyone who goes to a college is from the state that it is in. Less than half of WVU's basketball team is from WV (with one from Germany). What sense is there in calling them 'hicks?'

I don't know, I guess I am dignifying the comments with a response. I thought the game was great. I would have never dreamed WVU could beat a team as talented as Wake. I don't expect them to go futher, though I would love to see it. I guess I would just like it better if people would find something new to pick on. I have heard all of the backwoods jokes before. They are old and tired. But it's easy, and when someone is looking for something to grab on to, they grab the easiest branch.