Is there still lots of Boston versus WMass rivalry? (Springfield: school, college)

[ruready1st]

Do people in WMass still dislike Boston?

In growing up in WMass I remember that people would always bring up the creation of Quabbin Resorvoir for providing water to Boston as the start of the rivalry.

Or is it because Boston is the capitol and the perception is that the laws and regulations come out of Boston to benefit Boston and don't consider the rest of the State?

[in_newengland]

I don't know if it's a rivalry but people in WMass sure do feel left out. The Boston area is very densely populated and they seem to get all caught up in it and they forget that there is a lot more to the state than just their area.

I think the politics usually favor the Boston area and that's where the money goes. Quabbin, yeah, but what about the Big Dig? (a massive building project in Boston, which is now falling apart, btw.) We'd say, "Why do WE have to pay for something we'll never even use?"

I live in EMass now but not near Boston--if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Lots of us would like a forum on here for west of I-495, not that it would correctly cover MA but it's better than having to plow through all the Boston posts just to find our own.

[missionhill]

Rivalry, no. Eastern MA people are more oblivious of Western Mass than in rivalry with it, and W Mass has strong links to Connecticut that E Mass lacks. in_newengland is right-- W Mass folks feel left out. In Conn they see, for example, the state capital right there in the Conn Valley rather than down toward New York (in the big money area) whereas, of course, in Massachusetts we all know where the capital is, and Springfield and surroundings feel slighted. It's an old story. Building the turnpike was supposed to help and I guess it did. And putting the state univ campus in Amherst brought generations of E Mass folks out to the valley to study. Even so, people are resentful. I for one find much to like in both east and west.

[thenewtexan]

It's because too many people in 413 are Yankees fans. LOL.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by missionhill

Rivalry, no. Eastern MA people are more oblivious of Western Mass than in rivalry with it.

This.

Residents in Eastern MA are almost more aware of Rhode Island, New Hampshire and even Maine then they are of Western MA. Most of the people I grew up with are aware of Western MA for two things. 1) Six Flags (come on there's at least one obligatory trip every summer when you're in HS and college) and 2) UMass (about 1/2 the kids from Eastern MA go to school there). That's about it.

I've never seen or felt any animosity from Eastern MA toward Western MA (let alone a "rivalry"). Most people out here are just indifferent. Any discontent is certainly one sided.

[IDASpaceman]

Rivalry? No. Consider it the 'sticks' or the 'boondocks'...yes. As kid in the 80's if you said you were from anywhere outside of the I95...you might as well have said, "Cleveland"...because we had never heard of it, never mind having been there. : ) As far as going to school out there, UMASS Amherst was always your back up option if you couldn't make it into BC, BU, or Northeastern...and as opposed to live a million miles away, you ended up at Mass Bay or Bunker Hill with the other burnouts. LOL

[lmkcin]

I think any animosity on the part of East and West began in earnest with Shays' Rebellion. Which of course was caused by Western Mass farmers who stormed the Federal Armory to shut down state courts, for among other reasons they believed unfair treatment from the powers in Boston.

But I think today people from Springfield and Boston fully recognize its one state. I think Gov. Patrick has done much to promote that.

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by lmkcin

I think any animosity on the part of East and West began in earnest with Shays' Rebellion. Which of course was caused by Western Mass farmers who stormed the Federal Armory to shut down state courts, for among other reasons they believed unfair treatment from the powers in Boston.

But I think today people from Springfield and Boston fully recognize its one state. I think Gov. Patrick has done much to promote that.

Ya know, I've read about Shay's Rebellion 1000 times and it just goes in one ear and out the other so it's always good to hear the story again.

But the sad truth is that they (EMass) don't seem to know that we exist. Oblivious. Look at what they say on some of these threads--UMass is there and that's all they know.

They know more about RI or southern NH than about the rest of their own state.

They think of us when they want water--as in Quabbin--we're like a colony to them. Back in the 70s they even wanted to divert the CT River--I remember having a bumper sticker on my car opposing it.

I guess it's fair to say that people like me never heard of places out by Boston until I moved out here. Places like Beverly, Sharon, Natick, Arlington, Burlington, Malden, Newton--and all the rest were one big glob to me. Never heard of any of them, it was all "Boston."

Deval Patrick, regardless of what else he has done, at least pays attention to WMass. The rail service that we may get someday will probably bring us closer together so there is hope yet.

If Springfield ever becomes a vibrant city again (a big IF) because now it's more like Lawrence or Lynn out here in EMass, we would once again become a destination and there would be jobs again. We do exist though. We're not that far away. We are Massachusetts too and we root for the Rex Sox.

[lmkcin]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

Ya know, I've read about Shay's Rebellion 1000 times and it just goes in one ear and out the other so it's always good to hear the story again.

But the sad truth is that they (EMass) don't seem to know that we exist. Oblivious. Look at what they say on some of these threads--UMass is there and that's all they know.

They know more about RI or southern NH than about the rest of their own state.

They think of us when they want water--as in Quabbin--we're like a colony to them. Back in the 70s they even wanted to divert the CT River--I remember having a bumper sticker on my car opposing it.

I guess it's fair to say that people like me never heard of places out by Boston until I moved out here. Places like Beverly, Sharon, Natick, Arlington, Burlington, Malden, Newton--and all the rest were one big glob to me. Never heard of any of them, it was all "Boston."

Deval Patrick, regardless of what else he has done, at least pays attention to WMass. The rail service that we may get someday will probably bring us closer together so there is hope yet.

If Springfield ever becomes a vibrant city again (a big IF) because now it's more like Lawrence or Lynn out here in EMass, we would once again become a destination and there would be jobs again. We do exist though. We're not that far away. We are Massachusetts too and we root for the Rex Sox.

I hardly believe that to be true.

[in_newengland]

If Springfield ever becomes a vibrant city again (a big IF) because now it's more like Lawrence or Lynn out here in EMass,

Originally Posted by lmkcin

I hardly believe that to be true.

Believe what to be true? That Springfield is as bad as Lawrence or Lynn? Or that it could ever become a vibrant city again?

It's lost a lot. It used to have a great downtown--that's where everybody shopped. Last time I drove through the downtown (admittedly many years ago now) hookers were standing out in the middle of the street and walking up to cars. Not the same place my mom used to take me shopping for my school clothes.

I gave up on Springfield when the best bookstore (new and used) in the world closed its doors. Johnson's Bookstore. But places do come back from the dead. Northampton has come back. There must be cities and towns in EMass that have come back--oh, Somerville?(sp) Didn't they used to call it Slummerville? I'm from WMass so I don't even know how to spell some of your cities and towns, sorry, but anyway places do come back.