What is MARYLAND known for? Characteristics of Marylanders? (Baltimore, Frederick: credit, school)

[CelticViking]

The Republican party is made of mainly by those who are not conservative. A real conservative is someone with liberty and freedom in mind. A true conservative has a lot of libertarian beliefs...unlike many republicans. They are primarily just moderates. Someone who is a true conservative in my opinion is the likes of Ron Paul.

[westsideboy]

This is the problem with the Republican party

Neoconservatism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My favorite quote from the link is "A neoconservative is a liberal mugged by reality"

This is the best label for myself:

Paleoconservatism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"the expression of rootedness: a sense of place and of history, a sense of self derived from forebears, kin, and culture—an identity that is both collective and personal."

[goindownsouth2011]

Crabcakes and football...that's what Maryland does!

[westsideboy]

Football is big out where I live, not so sure in the rest of the state. There is a reason our local 1A schools schedule the big 3A schools from the DC area. We beat them, and it isn't because of talent. We just care more and are better prepared and coached. In a city of 20,000, we average about 5-6k in attendence at our home games. When two local schools play, that number swells closer to 8,000. College football is pretty weak in Maryland too. WVU has more fans in Western Maryland than the Terp football team does. The pro game gets some traction, but that is "Urban Cooridor" function more than something that is uniquely Maryland

I think Maryland is more of a basketball state. Look at all the pros we claim. Here are some of younger ones (including DC) - Rudy Gay, Carmelo Anthony, Ty Lawson, Michael Beasley, and Kevin Durant. Alot of folks live and die with the Terps basketball team, just like our more Southernly rivals in the ACC.

[goindownsouth2011]

It's just a line from a movie (Wedding Crashers). But. as usual, you prove to be the topper, know-it-all, we have come to expect on this forum.

[westsideboy]

I am glad my reputation precedes me

But really, how I am supposed to know you are referencing some 5 year old comedy movie rather than making a dubious observation about the state?

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by goindownsouth2011

Crabcakes and football...that's what Maryland does!

I'll give you crabs but FOOTBALL?

MD doesn't really come to mind when you talk football, either high school or college. It does have a fairly decent team in Baltimore, the Eastern Browns, and of course the now semi-pro team based in Landover.

[westsideboy]

That line is apparantly some quote from a movie. The poster didn't mean it to be serious. I already got jumped for trying to point out the same thing. Apparantly I should watch more mediocre comedy flicks as opposed to ruminating on the geographic and cultural heritage of my home state.

[Enzo_Guy]

Some of the defining characteristics of this state (some may have been posted before, didn't read the whole thread):
-Johns Hopkins
-Lot of federal government employees, members of the military, and government contractors
-Horrendous sprawl, overcrowding, and traffic
-Can have a Southern or Northeastern mentality depending on where you are
-Everybody has a boat or knows someone with one
-Naval Academy
-We have two major cities, many smaller ones, mountains, and beaches all within a close proximity
-Taxes that border oppressive
-A cost of living that is off the charts high
-No one can drive in snow
-University of Maryland basketball
-BLUE CRABS!
-A very educated workforce

I think the only real characteristic that is Maryland-wide would be that most people here are pretty up to date on their politics and are strongly opinionated, but nothing like the Jersey accent or "everything is bigger in Texas" type things. The reason is the culture here is so incredibly diverse, probably the biggest melting pot next to LA and NYC. In Annapolis you have wealthy upper-middle-class folks and a huge boat culture, southern MD and the Eastern Shore have a southern hospitality feel to them, in the center is basically a just an enormous urban sprawl with 10 of every convenience you could possibly think of within 20 miles, and out to the west is a mountain culture with some decent skiing (for the East Coast). And that's just the people who were born here! Add in that is one of the states with the highest amount of transplants, both domestic and international, and you can see defining characteristics are hard to come by.

The diversity:
My girlfriend is from upstate NY. At my last two jobs I have worked with people from Nigeria, England, Mongolia, California, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and probably more that I can't remember. About 50% of the people you meet here aren't from here (depending where you are in the state), so it's hard to really have any defining characteristic when so many people are from somewhere else.

[CelticViking]

2 and 8 offer the biggest problems of Maryland(minus the millitary of course)...They have caused Maryland to move farther to the left then California and Mass.