Sometimes you’ve just got to have fun.
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When The Mercury heard about a global competition to get our city’s name on an icon of our culture – the Monopoly board – we got excited.
How good would it be to sit down to a game of Monopoly and see Maitland right there on the map?
We dreamt up a scheme to contact people in other cities called Maitland around the world and enlist them to the cause. We were given a chance to spruik this on national television.
We’ve been on phones, social media and email to unite Maitlands of the globe. And today we bring you the news that Maitland, South Australia, had embraced the cause.
And be warned – we aren’t finished yet.
Why are we so interested? And why has this campaign attracted global attention?
If you’re reading this, there’s every chance the game has featured somewhere in your life.
Have you ever heard a final verdict punctuated with the words: “Do not pass GO, do not collect $200”? Have you referred to a “Get Out of Jail Free” card when you’ve found a way to get yourself off the hook?
Monopoly has probably seen you through rainy afternoons and hours of anticipation, sprawled on the loungeroom floor with family or friends.
Sure, there were fights over who got to be banker. You probably spat the dummy when you saw someone stealing. And there’s been many a house-rules showdown over the Free Parking kitty.
Monopoly has an indelible place in our culture. It’s the stuff of memories. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our beautiful city was part of that phenomenon in years to come?