If you were born and raised in the Buckeye state, you know exactly what it means to be a true Ohioan. From late-night Walmart trips to being a loyal fan to a team who never wins, us Ohioans have to stick together. Below are nine things us true Ohioans know all too well.
1. Saying 'pop instead of 'soda'
One year, as my family was passing through some random state on our way home from family vacation, we stopped at Subway for dinner. My mom ordered a pop and the worker giggled and said "Ya'll are from Ohio aren't you?" If you're from Ohio, prepare to argue with the rest of the world for forever about whether it's pop or soda... it's pop.
2. OH... IO
If you're in Ohio, in any public setting, yell OH and you will immediately get an IO yelled right back at you. The whole OH IO phenomena is also a great group picture pose. You can catch us Ohioans posing with our hands above our heads on the beach, at the Grand Canyon, or in front of the White House.
3. Cedar Point
Anyone from Ohio knows about Cedar Point. Not only do you know about it, but you've been there at least once a year since you were 2, can navigate the entire park with your eyes closed, and you earned then the title "Ride Warrior" years ago. Welcome to America's Rockin Roller Coast. Ride on.
4. Late-night Walmart adventures
In Ohio, especially as a teenager, you get really bored really fast. Let's face it, there isn't much to do. But the one place you can always count on being open and ready for your shenanigans is Walmart. Thank you for never kicking me out while playing hide-n-seek Walmart, I owe you one.
5. The Amish
Growing up in Ohio, seeing the Amish was never out of the ordinary. An Amish man built on to my house, my grandparents lives right across the street from an Amish family, and just the other day I got stuck behind two Amish buggies being pulled by horses. What a place to live.
6. The word "Ope"
OK, this is more a midwestern thing in general, but instead of saying "excuse me," here in Ohio, we just bump into someone and then say "ope, I'm sorry." Our lingo is better than yours.
7. Look at all that corn
Corn. Corn everywhere. Driving to Columbus? Corn fields. To Cleveland? Corn fields. How 'bout to Indiana? You guessed it, corn fields. From where I live, in a suburb, you can drive five minutes and be in the middle of the city, or you can drive five minutes the other way and literally end up in the middle of a cornfield.
8. Having 4 distinct seasons... sometimes all in one day
All 50 states try to compete on who's weather is the most bipolar but I can assure you Ohio always wins. Not only are we blessed enough to get to enjoy all four seasons, but we sometimes get to experience all four in one day. This year on super bowl Sunday I wore shorts during the day, then that night my car ended up in a ditch after hitting some black ice.
9. The most loyal sports fans
Let's be honest with ourselves here. The Browns are very very lucky they call Ohio home because if it wasn't for our loyal fans here in the good ol' Buckeye state, the Browns would have lost every last one of their fans 10 years ago. I have never even taken time to watch an NFL football game and I am still a die-hard Browns fan. Why? Cuz I'm from Ohio, and so are they.
