ann arbor is overrated.

This week in The Ann Arbor News, business columnist Mary Morgan takes on the white-hot Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti rivalry that prevents the two towns from merging their respective convention bureaus. Doing so, she writes, would be the best way to “promote the county’s offerings, from Elvisfest to the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, from Dexter Daze to the Manchester Chicken Broil.” Yet there are tensions that preclude such a happy solution: “Many in Ypsilanti feel a rightful pride in their community, but so strong that it often twists into a defensive, righteous anger against slights - both real and perceived - by their neighbors in Ann Arbor. In contrast, many in Ann Arbor don’t even give much thought to Ypsilanti.”

She goes on to argue that “Ypsilanti is not well-known outside of this region,” which is clearly wrongheaded; as my old boss out East once said, “Isn’t that the place that’s spelled with a ‘y’ in the wrong place?”

So the obvious solution is not, as Morgan suggests, to “leverage [Ann Arbor’s] recognition to promote Ypsilanti,” which would serve only to put more Cosi sandwich shops on Michigan Avenue. It is to use the latter’s bizarre spelling and rolls-off-the-tongue pronunciation to achieve a Kalamazoo-esque fame. As Slate recently pointed out, and Noam Chomsky agreed, Kalamazoo is a “one-word joke.” But it’s played out, having been mentioned in Dr. Seuss’ I Can Read With My Eyes Shut, for example, years ago. Ypsilanti could be the new answer to Kalamazoo, the fresh choice when you need a comical-sounding Michigan town reference to liven up a dreary essay. Take note, snotty Eastern alternative-weekly writers.