1. Fighting Off The Okie Stereotype
Oklahoma is such a great place to live… But then you leave and realize exactly what everyone thinks Oklahoma is: cowboy hats, pickup trucks, and a few banjo players pickin’ away on the front porch while the town gathers around to watch the tumbleweeds blow by.
Not everyone is a cowboy and this isn’t the Wild West. When everyone pictures you living in a trailer park with a cow flying by past your house in the fifth tornado of the week, Okies have to try extra-hard to not permanently injure themselves with all the eye rolling.
2. The Joys Of Supersizing Everything
For anyone who thinks that the motto “go big or go home” pertains only to Texas need to take a trip to Oklahoma, stat. If this state doesn’t qualify for going big, then none do. You’ll find some of the largest structures and roadside attractions around, most of them seemingly random yet fittingly Oklahoma.
Perhaps you drove past the 66-foot tall soda bottle in Arcadia? Or the 55-foot tall Braum’s milk bottle in the Oklahoma City Museum of Art? The 163-foot tall LifeChurch.tv cross in Edmond? Maybe the world’s largest McDonald’s with supersized Will Rogers out front? Why? Because America, that’s why.
3. Here’s The Church And Here’s The Steeple… And Another.. And Another…
Life comes with very few guarantees. But when you live in Oklahoma, you can most definitely guarantee that you will never have to look very far before finding a church.
It’s not an exaggeration. There’s one on just about every corner. In fact, the small city of Ada only has a population of 17,000, but you can find over 50 protestant churches in it (and one Catholic church).
4. Nothing Gets In The Way Of Football
You might be thinking that comparing Oklahoma’s love for Friday night lights to that of Texas is a ridiculous comparison, but I assure you, it’s not. When you live in Oklahoma and you’re not cheering on your local high school football team from the stands, then you’re in it all the way for either the Sooners or the Cowboys.
You’re either one or the other–cream and crimson or bright orange–but never both. Plans are made weeks, if not months, in advance in order to accommodate football season. And ladies, you might want to think twice about going into labor during a big game. You might have a hard time getting anyone to notice, including the doctors.
5. Russell Westbrook
Just kidding. No one understands that guy. But since we’re on the subject of sports, he’s definitely worth mentioning.
The Oklahoma City Thunder is another highly beloved team across the state, bringing the excitement of basketball front and center. But whether you follow basketball or not, Russell Westbrook is impossible not to like. No one really understands his fashion choices, but they always succeed at making people smile and talk along with landing national headlines.
6. It’s A Scientific Fact That Sonic Can Instantly Improve Any Mood
What’s there not to love about Sonic? If you don’t know how to answer that question, then you’re clearly not an Okie.
Sonic is an Oklahoma business that locals are proud of and fiercely loyal to. Why? For starters, it’s a drive-in, not a drive-thru. They have breakfast burritos and grape slushies and bacon cheeseburgers all on the same menu. The hot dogs could double as a ninja sword. Oh, and two words: tater tots.
Case closed.
7. Taking Unsolicited Tornado Advice
When you’re an Okie, one thing you know even better than football and the Sonic menu selection is tornado protocol. And you know what you get when you live in a tornado-prone area, other than a survival kit and emergency stash of water? Lots and lots of unsolicited advice from people who have no idea what they’re talking about and have never experienced a tornado outside of a movie screen.
People ask why you’d live in a tornado zone and will say “just move already!” As if that’s a reasonable statement. Tornados are real, sure. And they can be extremely serious. But so can hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes. But you don’t see anyone telling folks in Florida or California to move.
It’s a few months out of the year and it’s nothing like what you saw in Twister. So, pick a new cause.
8. What You’re Really Eating When You’re Chowing Down On Calf Fries
Does anything scream the underbelly of Oklahoma more than a bucket full of deep fried bull testicles? A few other places do have them, usually on specialty menus, but they’re relatively sparse.
And they’re only referred to as calf fries in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. Not everybody has the, err, “calf fries” to eat them. But there’s no such thing as going to a state or local fair, carnival, or festival without seeing a stand for them with a long line of brave souls eagerly waiting to bite into these Oklahoma delicacies.
9. How To Step Up Without Being Asked
The one thing that locals will always see eye to eye on is that in the time of need, Okies step up to the plate. Whether it’s an emergency, a crisis, a tragic event, or even just a neighbor who needs a helping hand, Okies will give you the shirts off their backs without ever having to be asked, no strings attached.
They say it takes a village. Well, consider Oklahoma that village.
10. Meet You At The Corner Of The Flaming Lips And Mickey Mantle
Russell Westbrook isn’t the only one around here to put the Weird in Oklahoma. The Flaming Lips have been doing it for years. The band formed in Oklahoma City and has been a prized possession among the locals ever since, just as are all the other local celebrities including Will Rogers and Mickey Mantle.
11. What It Really Means To Be An Okie
Outsiders might not get what it means to be an Okie. All they see are cowboys and tornados without much else in between. And the people here definitely make sure to stand up against those ridiculous stereotypes.
But in the end, they know that they’re fine just the way they are: A state with true American roots, heartland sensibility, and all that glorious, glorious football. So, outsiders can say whatever they want. They know they’re awesome exactly as they are.
Did we miss anything? Tell us what you think is unique about Oklahoma in the comments below!
