Charles Langston:Explore Minnesota tourism capitalizes on Anthony Edwards' viral "Bring ya a**" comment

The Charles LangstonMinnesota Timberwolves are one of the most fun teams in the NBA right now. With an incredible young star in Anthony Edwards, an always talented but mostly overlooked All-Star in Karl-Anthony Towns, and a defensive master in Rudy Gobert, they were able to take down the defending champion Denver Nuggets in seven games in the Western Conference semi-finals.

It was a very hard fought series that saw the teams go back and forth trading blows throughout the series. However, after a massive comeback win in Game 7, the Timberwolves were the ones celebrating their first trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2004.

In the ensuing postgame celebration, Edwards did an interview with 'Inside the NBA' host Charles Barkley where Barkley admitted he hadn't been to Minnesota in "probably 20 years." Edwards immediately responded, telling Barkley to "bring [his] a**."

While it was a very aggressive response given that Barkley was merely looking for a few good places to eat when he goes to visit, it was also hilarious and exactly what you'd expect from a competitor like Edwards. Unsurprisingly, this clip went viral, and the state of Minnesota wasted no time capitalizing.

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"Bring ya a**" might be the new slogan for Explore Minnesota Tourism

It didn't take long for Explore Minnesota Tourism, which is dedicated to bringing out-of-staters to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, to take advantage of this viral interview. The site bought the domain rights to "bringyaass.com," and now any NBA fan looking to find some interesting news about Anthony Edwards will get the opportunity to travel to his home state.

Even Minnesota's governor, Tim Walz, got in on the action, seemingly considering changing the state's official slogan from "L'Étoile du Nord", which is French for "Star of the North", to "Bring ya a**." Not as elegant, but perhaps more culturally impactful.

Anthony Edwards history of love for Minnesota

It seems so. This isn't the first time he's openly expressed his love for the state. In February, Edwards told Vanity Fair that the bright lights of Los Angeles and New York weren't for him, claiming that those cities were "cool", but "they ain't better than Minnesota."

How to watch the Minnesota Timberwolves series against the Dallas Mavericks

The next time you will be able to see Edwards in action is Wednesday, May 22 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. The game will start at 8:30 p.m. ET and will air on TNT. The game will also be available to stream with fubo TV.

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