Indiana? Isn't that somewhere in the middle?

While I've lived in Indiana longer than any other place (going on 14 years), I don't know that I qualify as a real Hoosier. This is mostly due to my lack of appreciation of a few select things.

#1. Basketball - High school, college, NBA, WNBA... makes no difference to me. I don't like it and you can't make me!

#2. Watermelon - I actually can't figure this one out. I love fruit but melon, especially watermelon, gets my gag reflex up faster than a cat who licked the Velveeta off the shells and cheese, left out from the night before. Don't ask me how I know that.

#3. Lawn ornaments - You may claim that this is not limited to Indiana, but I think it's an honorable mention and still carries weight in my case.

#4. Country music - I don't even like talking about this because it makes me itchy.

#5. Nascar or Brickyard - This is beyond my understanding. The car goes around. The crowd gets drunk and sunburned. Repeat.

#6. Vera Bradley - Call me crazy but quilted purses just don't rev my engine.

#7. Pure unadulterated hatred of Tom Brady - Now, this is one of the few where I'm borderline. While football is only slightly better than basketball, I do enjoy putting all of my energy into loathing someone I've never met. Especially a celebrity. And I don't like Tom Brady, but only because of how he treated that poor Moynahan girl from Sex and the City. What? He plays football, too? Weird.

#8. IU v. Purdue rivalry - As far as I can tell, this is a one-sided rivalry anyway. This has mostly to do with the fact that IU hasn't beaten Purdue at anything in years and have pretty much stopped caring.

#9. Hoosiers, the movie - Never seen it. Not planning on it.

#10. "Gary, Indiana" from The Music Man - While this isn't a requirement to be a true Hoosier, I just want to go on record as saying that I hate that song and the entire musical that surrounds it.

Those are the unfortunate things that came out of Indiana, but I think there are a few good ones.

#1. David Letterman
#2. Euchre
#3. World's Largest Ball of Paint
#4. The benefit of rolling your eyes when someone mispronounces "Terre Haute"
#5. Breaded tenderloin sandwiches

You know, maybe the Crossroads of America really does have something for everyone!