When asked where I’m from I usually say “Wisconsin” with full accent intact.  If pressed about my home state I often say, “It’s a great place to be from.”  The implication is that I loved growing up there, but wouldn’t want to live there now.  I’m not sure either of those sentiments is true. Although I didn’t know it growing up, I know now that I hate the snow. I hate the cold. I hate humidity (unless I’m on vacation). I hate flies. I really fucking hate mosquitoes. I hate not having breakfast burritos or avocados readily available. I hate that sushi is a foreign concept, that parking is guaranteed, that… I ran out of steam.  There really isn’t that much to dislike about Wisconsin, and I’d be happy to raise my children there, but if I try to list what I liked, what I really liked, about growing up there I can only come up with the following: I liked my friends, many of who still live there, although others have gone off to Seattle or San Diego or even joined me in L.A.  I use the term friend loosely – not as loosely as Facebook – but loose enough to say that if I liked someone in high school and they needed their tire changed I would help out if called upon. The second, and really only other, thing I really liked about Wisconsin were their sports teams.  I lived and died with the Green Bay Packers, followed every pitch of the 1982 World Series against the Cardinals, and loved that the Bucks were, back then, a perennial playoff team in a small market.  I also followed the University of Wisconsin basketball and football teams especially after Barry Alvarez made them relevant...