There’s been some mistake.
We’ve been ranked as the nation’s manliest city.
Yeah, I know. Ridiculous.
Oh, sure, we’ve got nests of manly-men here and there. Overall, the species is well-represented, nothing to be ashamed of, despite what single women will tell you.
But No. 1?
When you think of manly-man cities, you tend to go with the ones with broad shoulders and big pecs. Chicago, Cleveland, maybe even Philly, which advertises brotherly love, even while brawling into the wee hours. Houston men strut about in Stetsons and San Diego is just awash with Marines.
Charlotte, for heaven’s sake, is named for a queen. There’s even a statue of her at the airport, looking like she just got goosed.
This royal theme, while fine for street-sign logos, is an absolute manly-man disaster, public relations-wise. Mention royalty and people instantly think of Prince Charles.
Our honor springs from one of those surveys ranking various towns – which surveyors never bother to visit – on oddball criteria. Sponsored by the snack food Combos, the nation’s 50 biggest cities were weighed for such factors as per-capita pickup trucks, home-improvement stores, number of construction workers and other such nonsense.
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