At The Editor's Desk, Andy Bechtel has pointed out this groan-worthy sentence, taken from a News and Observer sports blog:
In 2002, West Virginia lost to West Virginia as the bowl debuted in Charlotte with a sellout crowd.
The error has since been corrected. The sentence now reads, "West Virginia lost to Virginia," which is all well and good, and I feel bad for the poor author or copy editor who didn't catch the mistake the first time around. But the typo still has me feeling down. When you're a native West Virginian, as am I, and you find yourself in another state, eventually someone is going to ask you where you're from. And the conversation often goes something like this:
Stranger No. 1: So, where are you from?
West Virginian: I'm originally from West Virginia.
Stranger No. 1: Really? My brother lives in Richmond. What a coincidence.
West Virginian: Well, I live in West Virginia. Richmond's in Virginia.
Stranger No. 1: Oh, right.
Stranger No. 2 [Approaches]: Hi, I don't think we've met.
Stranger No. 1: I'm Stan, and this is Stacey. Stacey's from Virginia.
Stranger No. 2: Wow, Virginia, huh? You're a long way from home.
Why did it have to be Virginia? Why?!
I understand how you are feeling! This same conversation has happened to me numerous times. I've decided that everyone has a relative in Richmond. Not one time has the "other party" had a relative in any other part of Va. A few years back, I decided that every time this conversation occurs, I comeback with "Oh, that's funny! I have a relative in (some city in a state where they don't reside). The look is priceless!
Posted by: Sarah | December 28, 2008 at 01:18 PM