The official Minneapolis website is touting another "survey" that ranks our fair burg high: Minneapolis is supposedly the second most fun city in the country. Once again we were beaten by our bitter rival Seattle, which apparently has fun shooting out of its ears.
The last time I was in Seattle I watched a drug deal go down outside an aquarium, right by a sign that said "This is a Drug-Free Zone." Then again, grim irony is a form of fun for some, so maybe they're on to something.
Or not. New York City -- official motto, "I got your fun, pal, right here" -- was No. 10. The notion that the Twin Cities beats the Apple for quantity of fun is preposterous. They have Times Square. We have square times.
If you're sitting in Eden Prairie, thinking, "Hey, we have fun here too. Just the other day we made smiley faces on the cupcakes with frosting," well, take comfort. The survey covered the entire metro area. It just says "Minneapolis" because that's the city everyone else recognizes. ("It's the capital of Indiana or something, right?")
Here's their complex, scientific methodology: "Residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area choose to spend a greater than average amount of their disposable income ... on sporting events, musical instruments, camping gear, video games and movies, and participating in sports."
You see the study's flaw, no? Just because we're having fun in the form of movie rentals -- I presume they don't count renting tedious fun-free French movies that could be boiled down to a man saying "yes, I had an affair" -- doesn't mean we are fun. It means we are having fun by ourselves.
If anyone books a flight to MSP, then stands around the airport shouting "I'm here! Where are the musical instruments?" they'll be sorely disappointed.
The survey was sponsored by Ritz crackers. As the press release says: "Ritz released the findings in conjunction with the brand's 75th anniversary, a celebration of the fun and excitement that Ritz crackers bring to millions of Americans."
