The people of Wisconsin are proud to be from America’s Dairyland. From their extreme home-team dedication to their almost intrinsic defensiveness of their home state (see: comments on this article), Wisconsinites are a proud bunch. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Though the rest of the U.S. thinks of Wisconsin as farmland, Wisconsinites know that their state is actually full of rolling hillsides, pristine forestland and more lakes than Minnesota could even try to brag about.
From the Packers to the Brewers to the Badgers, if they don’t win it is a shame. In Wisconsin, everyone roots for the home team. Everyone gathers together to watch their home team play, whether it is with family at home or with friends at their local watering hole. In fact, one of the biggest events is when the Packers and the Bears face each other.
“Hey, it's @Blaine and @psd putting the world to rights”byPhil Whitehouseis licensed underCC BY 2.0
The Badger state’s inclination to drinking ties in richly with their heritage and their land. The state was a dream for 19th-century brewers, offering pure water, land to grow grains and, of course, lots of ice. These brewers opened their own pubs and voilà!–a social predisposition to share drinks with others was born. It’s only natural they can outdrink you–their tolerance and fondness for beer has been passed down through many generations.
“Fish Fry Yummy!”bysiddhu2020is licensed underCC BY 2.0
If it’s a Friday night, chances are there’s at least one fish fry happening in any given place from Kenosha to Superior. From the church basement to the bar or to the local V.F.W., people head out in droves to enjoy their fish and chips.
You don’t come to house the bratwurst capital of the world and not be a brat about bratwursts. With multiple festivals dedicated purely to the sausage, the occasional extreme brand loyalty and their love for grilling out in the summer, Wisconsinites are simply mad about their brats. (Just make sure that if you crash a summer barbeque, you know how to say “brat.”)
“Hunting”bym01229is licensed underCC BY 2.0
A lot of Wisconsin is covered in forestland, so it’s only natural that the state is full of hunters. Some joke that the first day of deer season is a national holiday and celebrate like it is while others have never even entered a hunting blind. If they’re not an actual hunter themselves, chances are they know at least five. Which is probably why…
Camouflage, hunters orange and flannel are a popular set of patterns in Wisconsin, particularly in the rural areas. With a land that is ripe for the hunting, it makes sense that a button up camouflage or flannel shirt can double as formal wear for an evening out on the town.
From kin to practically kin, Wisconsin is a tight knit group. If they’re not your cousin, then they’re a friend of your cousin or the child of your mom’s best friend, automatically making them your best friend. Particularly in the rural areas of Wisconsin, everyone knows everyone. This may make them seem unfriendly to outsiders, but it’s only because they’ve known each other since they were wearing diapers.
The Wisconsin accent is a very real and very prevalent thing. Wisconsinites know that the proper way to pronounce “Wisconsin” is: Wis-kaaahn-sin, water fountains are “bubblers” and that bag is pronounced “bay-g” not “bah-g.” From replacing “th” with a “d” (Let’s go over dere), to adding an ‘s’ to you (yous guys), or ending a sentence with “or no” (Did you read that article or no?), Wisconsinites proudly wear their accent like a badge of honor.
Wisconsin is in the Midwest–obviously–so it’s no surprise that they are masters of the art known as snow blowing. Maybe you don’t think it’s an art, but have you ever had to shovel four feet of snow off of your roof? No? It’s no picnic. Which is why some people in Wisconsin have taken their snow blowers to their roofs. If that’s not an art to be carefully mastered, then I don’t know what is.
