10 Things Only People From Mobile Understand

1. No One From Outside Mobile Says The Name Right

Mobile is pronounced “Mo-beel.” Not “Mo-bull.” Not “Mo-bill.” And it’s obviously not “Mo-byle” because this isn’t the U.K. and no one says “Mo-byle” and if you do say “Mo-byle,” you probably also say “to-mah-to.” It’s just “Mo-beel.” Always has been, always will be. But for some reason, no one outside of Mobile can seem to get it right and it drives the people here absolutely crazy. In the instance that Mobile actually makes the national news (which is very exciting), even the TV anchors usually get it wrong. Mo-beel – what’s so hard about that? No one seems to mispronounce even the cities that have a complicated spelling like Albuquerque, yet Mobile remains a challenge. Get it right or prepare to be corrected.

2. For The Last Time, Mardi Gras Belongs To Mobile

If you think you got chewed out for mispronouncing the name of the city, just dare to presume you know anything about Mardi Gras and see what happens. Most people think the origins of Mardi Gras are in New Orleans, but they’re dead wrong. Mobile hosted Mardi Gras as early as 1703, which is 15 years before the first Mardi Gras in New Orleans and it’s a huge deal here. Schools even get off for the final Monday and Fat Tuesday celebration, regardless of religious affiliations. An average of 800,000 people visit Mobile during the Mardi Gras season, which lasts the full three weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. And locals who had enough fun to collect 12 or more pounds of beads take them over to Krispy Kreme in exchange for a free dozen doughnuts.

3. Crimson Is The ONLY Color That Matters

College football is to the people in Mobile as magic is to Harry Potter. It’s in their blood. Which is all the more fitting for their colors to be crimson. Locals usually have no voice the day after games because they lost it after spending the day yelling “Roll Tide!” the official Alabama battle cry. The die-hard fans have their houses covered in wall to wall Crimson swag – bathrooms, bedrooms and rec rooms, decked out to enjoy their team well beyond the season. Locals schedule their lives around games including weddings and even giving birth if you can keep your legs crossed long enough.

4. MoonPies Are Food Of The Gods

Along with the traditional custom of beads, it’s also become popular in Mobile for Mardi Gras float krewes to throw MoonPies at the visitors who line the streets. This tradition has sparked a long lasting and unwavering love in Mobile for the chocolate covered marshmallowy goodness. So much so, that the city drops a giant moon pie in lieu of the traditional crystal ball every New Year’s Eve at the countdown to midnight. You can find MoonPies everywhere in the city all year long, but Mardi Gras is the most anticipated time. Locals will starve themselves all day on Fat Tuesday in order to be able to gorge on some free MoonPies all night.

5. And Dew Drop Hot Dogs Are ALL The Things

Ask any local where to grab a hot dog and they’ll send you straight to Dew Drop. But it’s not just any hot dog. Order it “all the way” and you’ll get a delicious dog set in a toasted bun dripping with chili, topped with sauerkraut and a pickle. But it’s not just the hot dog that keeps the locals coming here. Dew Drop has been around for generations and has always managed to keep the same, old-fashioned appeal. Mobilians take comfort in bringing their kids out for a city-favorite dog in the same place their parents brought them. It’s just good to know that some things never change.

6. But The Junk Food Is Balanced Out By All The Amazing Seafood

Seafood is a culinary staple in Mobile. When you’re here, you quickly learn that there is more than one way to eat an oyster. People in Mobile eat them raw or chargrilled, Bienville-style stuffed with shrimp, crabmeat and parmesan, or topped off with jalapenos, cheddar cheese, and bacon. Mobile locals are also lucky enough to have the best dishes of West Indies Salad (lump crabmeat perfected with chopped onions and white vinegar) and fried crab claws, which are basically Mobile’s seafood french fries. They’re so good, when you leave the city, you daydream about them.

7. Azaleas Are Almost As Precious As Children

No one knows azaleas like the people in Mobile do. The city is full of them, giving it the name The Azalea City. The Mobile Jaycees are a group that works on planting and maintaining the flowers throughout the city like the Azalea Trail and Bellingrath Gardens. In an attempt to bring a bright pink stripe painted along the azaleas on the roadways which was outlawed in the 1970s, locals flooded the bureau’s Facebook page with pictures of their own Azaleas. Thousands of runners head to the Azalea Trail every March for the annual Azalea Trail Run. High school seniors and their parents pony up a lot of cash every year to buy extravagant antebellum dresses to parade around as Azalea Trail Maids, representing the city for special events.

8. Honking In The Tunnel Is Never OK

There are two tunnels that take you across the Mobile Bay to the Eastern Shore: the Bankhead and the George C. Wallace. It’s common folklore in the city, especially for kids, to try to hold your breath while driving through the city and has become something of a beloved tradition. The other tradition that isn’t so beloved is the honking. Some people like to honk in the tunnels, whether it’s to hear the sound of the echo, to prolong their tradition, or to feed into the frenzy. Either way, some locals really can’t stand when people honk in the tunnels and it sends them into a fit of road rage, which is especially unnerving when you’re in a tunnel 40 feet underwater.

9. Someone’s Always After Your Lucky Charms

Anyone with a moderate knowledge of Internet memes probably knows about the Crichton Leprechaun (sometimes known as the Mobile Leprechaun.) That’s because in 2006, Mobile’s Local 15 News covered a story in which several residents of the Crichton neighborhood claimed to have seen a leprechaun in a tree. It instantly became a local household joke. But when it was uploaded to YouTube on St. Patrick’s Day, it spread like wildfire and became one of YouTube’s first viral sensations. Memes, t-shirts, and “I wanna know, where da gold at?” jokes can be found everywhere still, although they’ve died down since the original buzz. You can still find people on Springhill Avenue looking for the leprechaun – even Daniel Tosh gave it a try. Some people can’t stand the joke and are just waiting for its (very extended) 15 minutes to be up. Others say whatever puts Mo-beel on the map is just fine with them.

10. Mobile Is The Sweet Home Of Alabama

So, no one can get their name right no matter how much they correct everyone. And New Orleans went and took all the credit for their Mardi Gras. The most attention they get on national news is over some stupid leprechaun. But guess what? The people in Mobile don’t really care. They know how amazing their city is – full of Southern hospitality, mind-blowing food, crazy traditions, beautiful streets and people that would give you the Crimson shirt right off their back if you needed it. They’re Mobile and they’re proud. And if you’ve got something to say about it, you’ve clearly never been here.