I always thought that it was here.
Personally, I’m fond of the theory that Springfield was actually one of those mock American villages used to train Russian spies.
This is neither news nor, really, accurate.
This topic has come up on the SDMB many times, and while everyone acknowledges that Springfield is sort-of based on creator Matt Groenig’s home in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, the show has always placed Springfield WHEREVER the writers want it to be in any given week.
If they want Springfield to have a beach on the Pacific Ocean, it will be on the Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, when they want Springfield to have been an important battle site i nthe American Revolution, it will be in New England that week.
It’s an Oregon-esque town that has EVERY feature a comedy writer could want it to have at any given moment.
I don’t know nuthin’ about no Springfield, but I do know the Simpsons are really from Northern Kentucky.
I’m with everyone who’s confused by that story. I’m just a casual fan but even I knew that Springfield was inspired by Groening’s hometown in Oregon. Even the article just quotes Groening saying, yet again, that very same fact that’s been know for years. I guess it’s just a slow news day?
This reminds me of when about a year ago one news source made a big story about how scientists “recently” discovered that everyone’s star-sign was wrong because of precession, when that kind of thing has been known to happen going back thousands of years. Is this a new trend? Reporting some already established-fact and pretending it’s a breaking story just so they get attention?
I always thought Springfield, Mass. The old guy at the town hall meetings has an old-timey New England accent (or a new-timey Maine one).
Is it the same episode Brenda Braxton will be in?
Springfield, OR is 111 miles from Portland. Not as close as some people think. Not a suburb like Beaverton or Gresham. I don’t think Groening was intimately familiar with it like NE Flanders St in Portland. As a kid, it would have just been a place name. No feature of the actual town would likely have shown up in the the early episodes.
One thing that is clear about the “real” Springfield is that the writers change it’s location and characteristics to amuse themselves. Each writer throws in things about their hometown. For several recent seasons, it often had a Northern California feel. While usually Western US in geography (mountains, deserts and seacoast in close proximity), it’s been set in the Midwest almost as often: the whole Jebediah Springfield mythos, Civil War battle, driving to the Knoxville Worlds Fair, Florida trips, etc.
This story neither says anything new or fixes its location.
And apparently now, Groening says he didn’t mean to imply the Springfield is in Oregon.
as many interpreted his remarks to mean.
An interesting article but, damn, that’s a whole lot of words to write about what is essentially a running gag on a cartoon sitcom.
I like the way they addressed this in the most recent opening titles. 