Dear Times readers:
The following article contains three-letter words starting with A that are considered vulgar. I'd like to avoid this term, but it seems impossible. We sincerely apologize in advance.
OK, deep breath:
“Bring me your ass.”
On the last day or so, basketball fans and people from Minneapolis-St. Paul gathered. The entire Paul region says so. That includes the city's basketball star who launched it, the local tourism council and the many fans who are overjoyed at the stunning victory.
It started with a win, as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat the defending champion Denver Nuggets 98-90 in a do-or-die Game 7.
Anthony Edwards, star of the winning team, was then interviewed by TV commentator and former NBA great Charles Barkley.
“I haven't been to Minnesota in probably about 20 years,” Barkley said. Edwards interrupted him by saying something like, “Bring yours.”
An off-the-cuff remark using the more informal pronunciation and spelling of “you” suddenly became a meme and then something more.
Minnesotans have begun asking Gov. Tim Walz to make this the state's tourism slogan. The governor responded on social media with an eye emoji, seemingly indicating he would consider the idea.
i doubt it? Now, the state tourism board posted those words in big letters on its homepage, with or without the governor's approval. However, he carefully expressed the offensive word as “A**.”
Photoshop masters have gone to work adding the phrase to the national seal and various local landmarks, and while fans have suggested the line epitomizes unforgettable Minnesota sports sayings, there's still strong support for a remark made by the Vikings' Randy Moss in 2005 when asked how he'd pay a $10,000 fine and he replied, “Cash on delivery, buddy.”
On the postgame broadcast, Barkley asked Edwards for a list of good restaurants, and some Minnesotans wondered where they could take their butts for Wednesday's Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks in Minneapolis. Some people started recommending it.
Few people seem to be holding back on this proliferation of three-letter words.
Minnesota sports fans may be thinking otherwise. This region could use a winner. Since coming to town in 1989, the Timberwolves have only reached the conference finals once, losing in a heartbreaking Game 6 to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The last time the Twins won all their games was in 1991. The Vikings have never won a Super Bowl, and the Wild and their predecessor, the North Stars, have never won a Stanley Cup. The WNBA Lynx has been a major trophy winner in recent years, winning her four titles in the 2010s.
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. Paul isn't the first neighborhood to adopt silly slogans or bother with grammatical reprimands. New Orleans Saints fans like to say, “Who?” The 1973 Mets celebrated their unexpected breakthrough (losing the World Series) with the inspiring slogan, “You've got to believe.” The 2008 Phillies asked the question, “Why not?” (They won).
The state of Mississippi derogatorily insulted its hometown of Starkville and accepted it, naming the city “Stark Vegas.”
Athletes, city leaders, and perhaps even ministers and English teachers have proclaimed a new Minnesota slogan across the Twin Cities that seeks to regulate public discourse and eliminate profanity from the language. Another blow to the Bluestockings' efforts.
Before you accuse Edwards, who was born and raised in Atlanta, of being a mercenary devoted to the Twin Cities just because he's paid there, consider what he said to Vanity Fair earlier this year: I want you to.
New York and Los Angeles are “cool,” he said. “But they're not better than Minnesota.”
