Turn the six upside down, it’s a… seven now? According to a new poll, and a shocking one at that, Toronto locals don’t call the city The 6—Drake’s beloved nickname for his hometown. The Forum research poll, which was conducted earlier this month, notes that almost 75 percent of the city’s residents call the city by its proper name: Toronto. How polite and accurate of us. But what about the city’s other nicknames? T.Dot wasn’t even considered and we often forget that we were once called ‘Hog Town.’ “Tronnah,” the preferred term by Northern Toronto residents was an option, the Star notes, along with the city’s proper name. Of the three, The 6 only got 7 percent support. Outrageous.
But, yeah, we saw this coming, right? The 6 is a beloved part of the city’s tourism and what drives people to come here. We’re not cool (yes, we are) without a nickname hand-picked by a phenomenal pop culture force like Drake. Except that he didn’t make up this infamous nickname: Jimmy Prime takes that win. If we’re talking about a poll that is based on community, which this Forum one is, then this number for The 6 is deserved: It references a small, community based on a nickname that has only been alive for two-ish years.
The 6 is a specific kind of Toronto: the one where you listen to “Know Yourself” while driving down the 401 with your buds, yelling WOES out the window; the one where you sit outside the OVO flagship store on Dundas West waiting for a glimpse of the 6 God but only get a frowning security guard who is tired of your celebrity searching shit. Or where Toronto-ish native Cory Joseph (he’s from Pickering), point guard for the Toronto Raptors, bears the number 6 on his jersey and instills a warm feeling in our hearts. But after the immense publicity around Drake plus his association with the nickname, it has become corny so it’s no real surprise that its residents—not all of whom are Drake fans—call Toronto by its proper name. The research poll says that it will conduct this same study next year, and I’m hoping for a strong lead with Hog Town.
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For the culture, here’s a recent video of Drake listening to “Cameras/Good Ones Go.”
Sarah MacDonald still thinks “You and the 6” is a great song. Follow her on Twitter.
