There He Goes Again

Is anyone else getting a little tired of Learned Foot’s “Oh everything from Wisconsin is so great” act?

Living so close to the Wisconsin border, we’re used to hearing the delusional rantings of certain Wisconsonites: “Oh, the Packers are the best football team ever”. “Oh, Lambeau Field is the bestest field in the whole wide world”. “Oh, Packer fans are the bestest fans in the NFL”. “Oh, the Badger hockey team doesn’t suck”. Now Foot takes things too far: He’s claiming that Wisconsin sharp cheddar is the best cheese.

Sure, if I were to serve an array of cheeses with crackers at a party, cheddar would be among the most popular. But so would swiss and colby. And few, if any, would care where the cheddar was made. I, unlike Foot, follow my principles when choosing a cheese and my principles demand that I evaluate cheeses on merit, not geography. Wisconsin sharp cheddar doesn’t merit a Ritz cracker.

Both of my parents are originally from Wisconsin. My Mom grew up in the shadow Camp Randall stadium. My Dad grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm that supplied cheese makers.

Everything above is true and more. I could play the Wisconsin card too, but (a) my parents moved to Minnesota before I was born, (b) even my Dad realizes that there is plenty of good cheese other than Wisconsin sharp cheddar, and (c) the fact that a cheese is produced in the state you grew up in is a poor criteria for choosing a cheese (and ALL cheese makes you want to swig a beer, not just Wisconsin sharp cheddar).

I’ve probably devoted more time and space to Foot’s cheese of choice than it deserves, but you have to admit, everything I’ve just written is absolutely right and correct, as always.

Unless some unforeseen residual issue pops up, this is all I intend to say on the matter.