Why Ashvegas?

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

1

I always knew there were lots of dumb people out there. Now here’s proof.

I found this discussion thread from the folks over at democraticunderground. The original message poster took a couple of lines out of one of my May posts about how well-organized the “progressive” Democrats have become in Buncombe County. I understood that be an invitation for people to wax poetic on the state of party politics here.

But apparently the only thing the morons over there could talk about was the name of my wonderful blog. Here’s the thread:

Yellow_Dog
Response to Original message
1. What?
Why ashVEGAS?, nothing here resembles Vegas, nothing at all. Now if your blog was ashFRISCO I could follow that reasoning.

MattNC
Response to Reply #1
2. ville = vegas no matter what the town is. dumb i know.

dhuss
Response to Reply #2
3. I’ve called it ashvegas and people understand what i’m talking about

Response to Reply #3
4. WeaverVegas
Never heard it called AsheVegas. Hear WeaverVegas (Weaverville) used all the time.
So, does this mean I live in EtowahVegas?

Yellow_Dog
Response to Reply #4
5. The only thing I have heard Asheville called…anything that can be used in polite company that is, is “little San Fran”; “San Francisco East”; and similiar comparsions
PS I’ve lived here all my life.

So here’s the deal. First of all, I’ve lived here all my life, too, and folks have been calling Asheville “Ashvegas” for years. I think it started out as a sarcastic nickname. Just 10, 12 years ago, Asheville was a nowhere town with not a whole lot going on. No glitz, no glam. No city of a thousand lights. So it was funny, in a sad sort of way, to call our little mountain metropolis “Ashvegas.”

Anyway, it doesn’t matter what the origins are. The name stuck. I hear the reference all the time – on the street, on the radio. People love it. Most people just get it. (Everyone except the posters at the democraticunderground, I guess.)

Plus, it’s just cool. It rolls off the tongue. All the kids are calling it that. Pick up on it.