DALLAS — No, we don't have an ocean near North Texas. Or a mountain range. Or particularly comfortable summers.
We do, however, have a sense of humor.
Earlier this week, DFW caught a stray on X, from a Houstonian, no less. What started as an interesting, if not surprising, stat about DFW's population growth, ended with an insult.
The user @StatisticUrban posted a map that highlighted all the numerous states with a smaller population than the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, which, by the latest estimates, has exceeded eight million residents. Dozens of states have less people than North Texas alone. But that's not really much of a surprise, and definitely not why we're writing about this.
What caught our attention was one of the quote Tweets on the post from @19eightywomatt, a.k.a Plant Parenthood.
"DFW is by far the largest US metro area with virtually zero cultural relevance or attractiveness to tourists," they wrote.
The likes and replies rolled in, as Plant Parenthood, a Houston resident who last lived in DFW in 2006, claimed "more interesting things here than in Dallas though."
Uh, excuse me, have you seen Jerry's Death Star?
But really, some of the tongue-in-cheek replies from North Texans were pretty spot on, ranging from our iconic waterfall billboard along I-35, the True Brand upside-down Dallas hats, the Rangers' Boomstick Burger, "King of the Hill" and "Dallas," the woman who just wanted shredded cheese on her fajitas (if you know, you know), and the Cowboys-themed, Post Malone-infused Raising Cane's location.
We also gave the world Chili's, 7-Eleven and the frozen margarita. You're welcome.
On a bit less-sarcastic note, other users rightly pointed out North Texas' bevy of museums and theaters, including but not limited to: The Dallas Museum of Art, the Meyerson, the Winspear Opera House, Bass Performance Hall, the Perot Museum, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the African-American Museum at Fair Park.
And speaking of Fair Park, have you been to the Cotton Bowl on the second Saturday of October?
But the best part about these debates over "tourist attractions" is that we're not tourists in our own city. We actually live here, all eight million of us. And we're pretty good with that.