Quote Originally Posted by jdsplaypin
But are the Nascar fans the people we want to bring into Oklahoma? They have a bad stereotype & oklahoma in general is trying so hard to fight off it's bad stereotypes of rednecks & people who aren't cosmopolitan.
Cosmopolitan isn't the be all end all. I don't think we should eschew our down home country roots. I see many posts on here that think that it is a bad image. But when people come to Oklahoma that's what they want to see - cowboys, country and western etc. They don't care to see Simply Fondue or something they can drive down the street and see in their own city.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't have fine arts, performing arts etc. But we also shouldn't forget where we came from (that could be our bread and butter as far as entertainment and tourism)in an effort to try to be the next San Francisco or Chicago - we'll never be that nor should we.

Too many people on here badmouth Toby Keith and his restaurant for being too rednecky, but that's what Oklahoma is and is known for. I think it's great that he stayed in Oklahoma and invested in his home state rather than leaving for the bright lights as soon as he got famous. We need more like him.

We can parlay our image into big money if it's done right. Look at a place like Dallas, they have their finer lifestyle but they never let you forget you're in Texas and they're proud of that not ashamed that Big D and Texas brings to mind the South and country. We should follow that lead. Dallas is uniquely Dallas and Texas, we should be uniquely Oklahoma and not measure whether we've arrived or not by having the next hip restaurant that already exist in 100 other cities.

<steps down off of soap box>