Kentucky Fans Don’t Like Starkville and That’s Fine

It’s that time of year again. Well, it probably actually happens multiple times a year. It’s a low hanging fruit that people want to try to pick because they’re too lazy to go for anything else. It’s that time when an outside fanbase decides to try to deride Starkville, Mississippi.

This go round, it’s Kentucky. The folks over at Kentucky Sports Radio dot com have decided to try their hand at insulting small towns and rural areas, because that’s something that’s not common at all in Kentucky. No, Kentuckians don’t know a thing at all about that. But, they’ve decided to mock Starkville, so here we go.

The gist of the link above is that there’s nothing to do in Starkville. It’s a couple of gifs and then some message board discussion stuff. That’s about it. And the implication is that everything here is boring and dull. Which, this is an easy mentality to fall into. Admittedly, I’ve fallen into this too.

I’m from Houston, Texas. This is a fact that I’ve discussed frequently before. I understand what it’s like to live in a metropolis area where the population is over 6.3 million people. Mississippi’s population is just under 3 million while Kentucky’s is a little over 4.4 million. I’ve lived in a city where the population dwarfs that of entire states. There were moments initially wherein I was concerned about the size of the town and there not being enough to do. But, as I’ve come to know the city of Starkville more and more, I’ve fallen more and more in love with it.

Is it Stockholm syndrome? Maybe? Could also be that I’ve enjoyed the change of pace and a more laid back atmosphere. I’ve come to enjoy some of Starkville’s quirks, such as the unnecessary placement of roundabouts around town. I’ve come to thoroughly enjoy the vastly underrated food and bar scene that’ll get easily glossed over by those on the outside. I’ve really come to love the coffee shops and local breakfast joints in town, despite the fact that I despise coffee. (Shoutout to Nine-Twentynine Coffee Bar for having cheap beer and free wifi).

Would I love Starkville more if there were more museums and art galleries? Yeah, I absolutely would. A more developed local music scene would be great to have too. I miss that about Houston. I also miss being near the coast. However, Starkville is a fun little town that is deeply underrated.

Starkville has more to offer than those on the outside will understand and will likely care to try to understand. It’s become a target to deride and that’ll likely never change. But that’s fine.

As for the “haha you live in a small town” barb, it’s not a very sharp or edgy one to be thrown. It’s lazy. I myself have done it pertaining to NBA games between the Thunder and the Rockets. I get it. You think it’s effective. And in a way, you got some clicks and angry responses. Heck, you got me to write something that I hadn’t initially planned on. So, for that, kudos to you.

Regardless, keep doing what you’re doing, Kentucky fans that don’t like Starkville. Do everything to keep your fanbase away. Continue to warn them about this little town. Please do. I’m sure we’ll miss the loud spelling of C-A-T-S chanted over and over again at us during games.