I had a little time to think this weekend, which we all know can be a dangerous thing, and I started to wonder if there’s one word or one phrase that all 300,000 of us who live in the UP can agree on…a Yooper national motto, if you will.
And even though we don’t agree on everything, I do honestly think there are six words we’ve all grown up with, six words we’ve all come to know and love and even wear–
“Say Ya To Da UP, Eh?”
As far as Yooper national mottos go, I don’t think anything comes close to that phrase, especially in just six simple words.
In fact, the only other six word contenders I could come up with were “Do you want Ketchup or Gravy?”, or “My car just hit a deer”.
And neither of those are as succinct or, let’s face, as classic as “Say Ya”.
Say Ya to da UP, Eh” came into being as an offshoot of an old state tourism slogan, “Say Yes to Michigan”, and it’s something that allowed us to not only point out the difference we have with everyone downstate, but also to poke a little fun at ourselves, too.
And while “Say Yes to Michigan” has vanished into the mists of time, the Yooper version will probably outlive us all.
Don’t believe me? Well “Say Ya to da UP, Eh” adorns not just my sweatshirt but t-shirts, bumper stickers, hats, mittens, license plates, coffee mugs, bottle openers, beer koozies, and, for all I know, the richly upholstered couch in Steve Mariucci’s man cave.
Actually…I have no idea if Steve Mariucci has a man cave. Or a couch.
But it does go to show the power of those six words. No matter who you are…no matter where you live…if you have any connection at all to the UP, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll have at least one item lying around, one thing emblazoned with the national motto of Yoopers everywhere– “Say Ya to Da UP, Eh”.
I’m Jim Koski, and that’s another slice of Life in the 906.
