1. Everyone In Memphis Is Burning A “Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Love” For The King
This point almost goes without saying, but Memphis really loves the King. Sure, sometimes they can get a little blasé about him and claim they’re burned out, but then Elvis Week rolls around in August and everyone shows their burning love for the King at the yearly Candlelight Vigil.
2. The Only BBQ Style That Matters To Memphians Is Their Own
Not all barbecues are created equal. Memphis loves their style of barbecue: pork, usually ribs and shoulders, slow cooked in a pit and prepared dry-rubbed with salt and spices. Sauce, eh? They don’t need it. In Memphis, they normally eat their barbecue without sauce; it’s more about the flavor and quality of the meat.
3. In Fact, They Love It So Much they'll Dress Up Like Pigs To Prove It
Memphis is home to the largest pork barbecue competition in the world (as evidenced by the Guinness Book of World Records). There’s over 250 teams from 20+ states and several countries that come here to compete at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. It’s a big fiesta. Pig everything. They even dress up as pigs and perform songs and skits on stage for Miss Piggy Idol. True Story.
4. Folks In Memphis Roar For The Tigers...
Everybody in Memphis roars for the Tigers during football season. They party, they tailgate like total rockstars, they have concerts with awesome music, they stuff their face with BBQ and everyone, I mean everyone, is donning their Tiger blue.
5. … And Growl For The Grizzlies
The favorite season around Memphis isn’t Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall… it’s basketball season. Between high school basketball, the Tigers and the Grizzlies, there’s nearly a game every night of the week during season and the entire city is happy as a pig in mud.
6. People In Memphis Know Their Water Is Better Than Yours...
They love to tell you how how pure it is, how refreshing, how extremely clear and odorless, except for an almost sweet flavor. How it comes from a natural reservoir located in a sand aquifer between two layers of clay that acts as a natural filter. How it exceeds the EPA’s standards and is delicious. Then they remind you what delicious water makes and jealousy ensues.
7. ... And Makes Beer That's Way Better Than Yours
Memphians love drinking delicious local beer made from delicious local water from their favorite local breweries: Ghost River, Wiseacre, High Cotton and Memphis Made. They have plenty of chances to do so in excessive abundance, especially at Memphis Brewfest, the twice annual Zoobrew, Art on Tap and Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest.
8. Shhhh...Everyone In Memphis Secretly Enjoys Beale Street
Yes, it’s a tourists haven, can be pretty shady at night and the teams of college kids getting extra drunk don’t help, but Memphians still secretly head to Beale Street when they want one of their three favorite things: beer, blues and bbq.
9. People In Memphis Are Kind Of A Big Deal
The list of native Memphians who made it big is extensive. People like Morgan Freeman, Justin Timberlake, Kathy Bates, Ginnifer Goodwin, Aretha Franklin… and the list goes on and on. Memphians take pride in knowing that their city churns out stars and who knows who the next big one is going to be.
10. Everyone In Memphis Knows Their Graffiti Is Cooler Than Any Other City's
There’s a ton of public all over Memphis and I’m not talking graffiti tags here; there’s colorful, creative murals all over the city. Memphis has several incredible graffiti artists who paint legal murals in Memphis, thanks to the UrbanArt Commission. Everywhere you look is splashed with color and art, making Memphis beautiful.
11. Trips To Graceland Are Rites Of Passage For Memphians
Many Memphians will tell you they haven’t been at all, or give you the standard, ‘Been there, done that’. Sure, the Memphis icon isn’t something you need to see over and over and over again - unless you’re a die-hard Elvis fan. But they do love it. It’s such an important part of music history and is especially pretty at Christmastime.
12. Folks In Memphis Show Up In Droves To The Beale Street Music Festival
Top local and national musical talents can be found at the Beale Street Music Festival. Heading into its 38th year, the Beale Street Music Festival remains one of the most popular annual music events in Memphis. The three-day festival always offers an eclectic mix of top music talent from a wide range of music genres. The event takes place on historic Beale Street. Every year, thousand of music enthusiasts from all over the country attend the event.
13. To Memphians, The Southern Heritage Classic Is Like A Three-Day State Holiday
Every year the Tigers of Tennessee State University and the Jackson State University's Tigers battle it out at the Liberty Memorial Stadium. Known as the Southern Heritage Classic, lots of beer, tailgating, concerts and wild parties make this three-day event one of the largest, best sporting events in Memphis for the last 25 years.
14. People In Memphis Beat To Their Own Drum (Shop)
Memphians definitely beat to their own drum… They also have one of the best drum shops in the world with every kind of drum you could imagine. Six showrooms feature an extensive collection of acoustic drums, electronic drums, hand percussion, cymbals, and vintage drums, with the largest display of Zildjian and Paiste cymbals in the world.
15. Memphians Have All The Best Carnival Food All Year Round
You know how you look forward to funnel cake and fried oreos once a year at your favorite fair? Memphians don’t have to wait all year to look forward to that. They just go to ‘Carnival Food’. It’s everything you’d expect. Funnel cakes, corn dogs, cotton candy and deep fried twinkies can be enjoyed all year round, seven days a week. They have a local food truck, too. Hey, they never claimed to be the most health conscious city in America, now did they?
16. People In Memphis Know The Best Way To Admire Downtown Is From A Riverboat
Your city doesn’t have the Mississippi River, but if it did you would probably get on a riverboat to wine, dine, dance, cruise and catch the best view of your city, too.
17. Memphians Are Kitschy And Classy At The Same Time
Memphians are both classy and kitschy, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive. They’ve found a way to bring kitsch to their class and class to their kitsch. I guess that makes them “claschy?” Whatever it is, it’s awesome.
18. People In Memphis Walk The Greenline (Or Bike, Or Skate)
Memphians love heading to the Greenline, a seven-mile stretch that runs from Tillman to Shelby Farms. They bike, walk, skate and bring the entire family along. You’re even bound to see some unicyclists.
19. Memphians Have The Best Blues Music In The World At Their Fingertips
Memphians have the best Blues in the world and not only on Beale Street. When Memphians really want to hear the Blues, they know about all the hidden dive joints that have the best blues that you’ll never know about, like Wild Bill’s. (Shhhh…you didn’t hear it here.)
20. To People In Memphis, Central BBQ’s Nachos Are Food Of The Gods...
Pulled Pork served atop a bed of tortilla chips, topped with BBQ sauce, cheese sauce, shredded cheese, jalapenos and a light dusting of BBQ shake. Best Ever.
21. ...Along With The Memphis Pie At Aldo’s
What is the Memphis Pie? Well, it’s pulled bbq pork and sauce, mozzarella, red onion, and cole slaw. Yes, cole slaw. There’s nowhere but Memphis to get a pie this tasty.
22. The Pyramid Is Every Memphian's Pride And Joy
It was a sports arena, then it sat empty, but now it’s being renovated to become a Bass Pro Shops "megastore". Uh, okay. No matter what they do with it, it’s still pretty epic. Just look at it.
23. People In Memphis Escape With A Trip To Overton Park
You can tell a lot about history from an old tree - just see above. Luckily for Memphians, they have a lot of them. The Old Forest is a huge 172-acre wooded area right in Midtown and one of the only old growth forests left in Tennessee. It’s the perfect place for them to escape the urban vibe.
24. Folks In Memphis Love Singing Songs About Themselves
Source: Youtube user *The sun never sets on a legend*
They love being loved. There are over 1000 songs about Memphis and they love to sing them. They especially love Memphis, Tennessee by Chuck Berry, Graceland by Paul Simon and Walking In Memphis by Marc Cohn….among hundreds of others. The musical world loves Memphis and they love them right back.
25. Memphians Get Their Broadway Fix At The Orpheum
Where Broadway meets Beale, Memphians catch 10-12 Broadway shows a year at the 1920’s ‘movie palace’, the Orpheum Theatre. Plus the Theatre is home to Opera Memphis, Ballet Memphis and local arts groups.
26. People In Memphis Are Going International (At Least, Once A Year)
Memphians love International Week during Memphis in May, a week of events that centers around a different country each year (2015 will be Poland). All week long there are food and music events of that location, and while it’s great fun for the Memphis community, it’s geared toward area youth with a core educational program. How cool is that?
27. Folks In Memphis Eat Their Way To Happy With Prozac
No matter the mood, Memphians know where and how to make it better: Muddy’s Bake Shop and a Prozac cupcake. It’s chocolate on chocolate with colorful confetti and and obviously some sort of magical fairy dust that makes it the most amazing chocolate on chocolate cupcake you’ve ever had.
28. Memphians Remember The Good Old Days On Summer Avenue
Summer Avenue is a 10-mile stretch of awesome. It kind of looks like it’s stuck in the 70s, but it’s where Memphis lives. Like, it’s where Memphians go to eat ice cream, pick up their prescriptions, have a beer, play mini-golf, get a car battery, play pool, see an adult movie, buy vintage clothing, take their sick pet, eat pancakes at any hour of the day or night, get a psychic reading, watch a drive-in movie, buy a scooter, grocery shop, get a tattoo and then there’s Leahy’s Trailer Park… you get the idea. It’s where Memphis really lives.
29. People In Memphis Prove Their City Love With Rad Public Art
If you need proof that Memphians love Memphis, there’s a series of incredible murals throughout the city with the theme ‘I Love Memphis’. Find them all to profess YOUR love to Memphis and don’t forget to take advantage of the perfect photo opp.
What’s something in Memphis you can’t live without? Leave a comment and let us know!
