GRID wrote:
Get on the same page and sell the metro area. Market the metro area. How can places like Indianapolis (which I think is way below KC) have a better image and reputation than KC. Hell, I think even OKC is starting to get a better image than KC. Oklahoma? Really? The image of Kansas is that bad.
KC just needs to rename itself, the Kansas name in KC is too strong and confusing, after living here 7 years my parents still think i live in Kansas and they don't understand the whole state line thing. Some websites that rank cities put Kansas City, KS as the city then show an Image of Union Station.
My Aunt lives on the Kentucky side of Cincy in a Leawood type city and my family thinks they just live in plain ole Kentucky (Making it sound hickish) rather then a suburb of Cincinnati.
Most Outsiders probably don't even realize that the Suburbs of Cincy go into Indiana and Kentucky, if Cincy was named Kentucky City, wouldn't they have just as bad of an image?
Last edited by KCMax on Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
Is it possible for us to simply change our name? I would definitely vote for it. I agree a big part of the perception of our city is our association with the word "kansas"... what would we rename the city? try to keep the K.C.? Kemper City &&
kboish wrote:
Is it possible for us to simply change our name? I would definitely vote for it. I agree a big part of the perception of our city is our association with the word "kansas"... what would we rename the city? try to keep the K.C.? Kemper City &&
kboish wrote:
Is it possible for us to simply change our name? I would definitely vote for it. I agree a big part of the perception of our city is our association with the word "kansas"... what would we rename the city? try to keep the K.C.? Kemper City &&
Bombay was Changed to Mumbai, i'm sure if a US town was named Hitler, it would have been changed right away. Can you get signatures and make this happen?
I think Kemper City sounds kind of nice
I think KC gets a bad rap because of the word kansas and probably because of the bad airport out in the middle of farmland, when you land or take off, it's just depressing, you really don't see anything at all.
KCMax wrote:
Just more evidence how stupid East Coasters are.
He was originally from Cleveland (I know this because we are going there for the royals series next week and so we talked about that for a while) but I have had similar conversations with people from cities much smaller and or much closer to KC (doesn't have to be some big coastal city). I still remember somebody in Louisville once asking about farms when I said I was from KC. Louisville! It's like people hear "Kansas" and completely ignore "City". That's why I now always precede with the state and then quickly follow it with the city. I'm from Colorado.....Denver. It works quite well actually. You get a totally different response than saying you are from Kansas City where people just go straight to "kansas" mode and for some reason it even works better than saying Kansas City, Missouri because even when you say that, the Missouri part often doesn't sink in. It's freaking bizarre.
Speaking of KCI not helping. My fist week in DC. Got a haircut at a local place in germantown (suburb of dc). She asked where I was from...
She said she flew into "kansas" once and she said there was no city, just farms and the airport was very tiny. She connected to fly into vegas she said.
"Do the chiefs just play for all the small towns of kansas?" She was originally from Philly I think.
Lost cause, get some of those sometimes.
Last edited by GRID on Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
brewcrew1000 wrote:
I wish KC would rename itself, i really think the image would change drastically
I like
Westport, and Heartland
Westport seems most appropriate, although I can see many coasters getting confused by that too since we're not "West" and not on the ocean.
No offense, but "Heartland" makes me wretch.
I feel like we're trying to impress the cool kids. Can't we just be comfortable being who we are? If Americans are dumb about geography, isn't that kind of their problem?
KCMax wrote:I feel like we're trying to impress the cool kids. Can't we just be comfortable being who we are? If Americans are dumb about geography, isn't that kind of their problem?
YES. Thank you.
How about we change the name of the city to an unpronounceable symbol?
"It is not to my good friend's heresy that I impute his honesty. On the contrary, 'tis his honesty that has brought upon him the character of heretic." -- Ben Franklin
Not to mention the fact that the very act of changing our name would make KC/Kansas even more of a laughing stock than it already is. KC could be called "Westport" or "West New York City" and people from the coasts would still have no idea it is a metro of 2M people. I bet most people do not know that STL is a metro of 3M or that OKC is a metro of 1.3M or whatever. Flyover country is flyover country. Hell, a lot of coastal types think Chicago is not up to snuff, why are we surprised when they are ignorant or dismissive of KC?
Others ignorance shouldnt bug you. Kc is kc.....changing our name would be both silly and and ultimate sign of those with an inferiortity complex taking over.
I honestly think the biggest problem with KC is that the city is never in the national spotlight anymore,especially after the mid 1980's right before cable news and internet took off.
The airport design and location hurts some, the stadium locations hurt some. If MCI had a modern terminal as was located where downtown airport is, I'm sure that would help.
If there was a skyline beyond the outfield of Kauffman Stadium, that would help.
But when was the last time KC had a reason to be on national tv? The city basically turned down a superbowl and final four, it's never in the running anymore for large political conventions. The royals never ever get on national tv and when they do, it's not really for KC, so there is no blimp in town or anything and then there is only 12k in the stands which make the city look great. KC is never mentioned as a city with light rail etc when people talk about transit cities like denver or portland because it doesn't have anything (so kc gets grouped with omaha, des moines etc rather than denver or minneapolis). To the nation, KC is omaha with a couple of very shitty sports teams.
Indy has made its name by hosting a lot of big events.
With CNN and stuff, even disasters give a city exposure. OKC with the bombing and tornadoes. Can you imagine all the press coverage of the Hyatt disaster had it happened now rather than 1981? There would be 24 hour aerial coverage of a downtown skyscraper all over the national news and everybody would know where kcmo is.
I am NOT saying kc needs a disaster (so don't go there), I'm just saying that KC is just so far off the map that it makes the rest of flyover country look pretty good.
Kansas City does take it on the chin more than most of the rest of flyover country. I think the only exception may be St Louis. Most people not only think that city is a hell of a lot smaller than it is, but they are also brainwashed every few months that it's a complete warzone and it's the most likely place to be shot in the face if you ever visit there. Total shame.
KC should change some of this next year. I hope the national press doesn't ignore the performing arts center opening. I remember all the coverage the disney hall in LA got. I know KC won't get that, but it would be nice if people past Grain Valley and Bonner Springs knew about it. If that PAC where to open in DC or Atlanta or even Charlotte, it would be all over the press.
And then KC has the MLB All Star Game. While I don't think the ASG has near the following and prestige it once had, it's still a huge event and one of the only times KC has had a chance to show itself off to a national audience in decades.
Last edited by GRID on Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
