Because Underdogs Rock
Travel Blog • Jenna Schnuer • 01.13.09 | 12:03 PM ET
Growing up in New Jersey, you, quickly, understand what it’s like to live as the underdog. My poor home state. Its wonders are frequently overlooked. Isn’t that just a place where people who commute to NYC live? It’s an easy punchline for most outsiders. New Jersey. Heh heh. Snicker snicker.
Yes, I’ll admit that, once I went off to college (Boston—another underdog place), I made Jersey jokes and laughed along the millionth tired time somebody asked me what exit? I made it clear that I hated Springsteen, that hair bands were evil and that my aesthetic leanings were more Manhattan than Jersey. I vowed never to return (permanently) to the Garden State. But graduating into the lovely economic climate of 1992, well, plans changed. I ended up back at my parents’ house in Teaneck, commuting into Manhattan via NJ Transit’s 167 bus.
Jersey Girl, circa 1988But it wasn’t until I was 23 and had set up camp in my very own fourth-floor walk-up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side that I started to fall for New Jersey.
It was a subtle shift brought on by many Manhattanite’s bridge-and-tunnel jokes (local shorthand for making fun of Jersey, Long Island and the outer boroughs). Manhattanites who, in most cases, had moved to the city from places way away from NYC! How freakin’ dare they make fun of people who lived in the next state over (and whose grandparents had probably built the freakin’ city in the first place). So I started to claim Jersey as my own. I started to admit that I had love for the Garden State.
Though I lived in Manhattan for 11 years, my love for underdogs blossomed. I realized that I had never lived somewhere cool. Hell, even when I lived in Manhattan I didn’t live in a what-other-people-thought-was-cool neighborhood.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Manhattan. I’m the first to defend my fellow New Yorkers when people slam us for being rude and I still get my hair cut in Alphabet City. But, over time, I’ve learned that I’m all for places with more subtle charms. Places like Jersey. And, yeah, I’ve grown to love Bruuuuuuuce.
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Freelancer Jenna Schnuer writes about travel, food, culture, books, and life's quirky bits (and bites) for publications including American Way, National Geographic Traveler, Southern Living, and many others. She also co-writes Flyover America, a site filled with quieter stories from around the U.S. Send Jenna an email or, if you're so inclined, follow her on Twitter.
Eva Holland 01.13.09 | 2:42 PM ET
Hey Jenna, ever heard the Less Than Jake song, “Never Going Back to New Jersey”?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdmWEkk2wtM
Cool post!
sylvia 01.13.09 | 3:42 PM ET
How in the “world” do you join? I want to interact with the discussions and I can’t seem to. I’ve done the search and it takes me nowhere. Please email me asap, love the website, I never knew it existed, until you did the travel sweepstakes recently.
sylvia robbins 01.13.09 | 3:46 PM ET
OK, take two. I’ve filled in all the spaces and this time I included my last name. What if I were Cher or Bono, do you have to have one? Alright, I’m done. How do you join into the discussions? It won’t let me access anything. YUP, not too swift in the computer biz, I just want to enjoy the website and “talk” about my travels right along with others. Please help me. Remember, not very literate in computer stuff.
Gennaro 01.13.09 | 4:03 PM ET
It’s tough being next to New York City. New Jersey definately takes the brunt of the jokes in the area. There are certainly plenty of nice things about New Jersey with plenty to do, but I don’t think it will be able to shake the image.
Chris 01.13.09 | 4:12 PM ET
I don’t see Boston as an underdog place. The entire Deep South however seems to have permanent underdog status and continues to suffer jokes that are a half-century old.
Jenna Schnuer 01.13.09 | 5:14 PM ET
Eva—Oh how you made my day. That song…it was just the antidote I needed to an endless customer service phone nightmare that had me circling the drain. With Better Than Jake on my side now, I’m whole once more.
Sylvia—Your posts put you right into the conversation already. Just comment away in that same space and they’ll show up for all to read. Glad to you have you here.
Gennaro—I agree. And, now living in Queens, it’s the same thing. Though it’s one of the boroughs, people always ask me if I’m going into the city when I’m Manhattan-bound. Well, I live in the city, I respond. Sigh.
Chris—Boston has a slight-to-extreme damn-you-NY tone to it (and I’m not just talking about the Sox-Yankees rivalry)—several Bostonians I know feel that Boston just doesn’t quite measure up on the city front. Now I think Boston (and Bostonians) should be celebrated for its (and their) own charms but…part of that charm is that it’s always slightly not quite something. I just have to figure out what the word is…. And, yes, the South (deep and otherwise) definitely has its challenges on the underdog front. But I love exploring/learning/eating my way through the South so…which you’ll see over time.
Sophia Dembling 01.14.09 | 11:45 AM ET
I will continue making New Jersey jokes as often as possible…
People don’t seem to joke about Texas as much as hate it, and even a lot of Texans hate Dallas so I know from underdogginess.