I don’t often write about my writing process, because I assume it must be boring in the extreme. That said: over the weekend, I read that MLB.com was getting a new Twins beat writer, named Rhett Bollinger, who publicly admitted that he’d never been to Minnesota before.

I thought it’d be fun to write a “Welcome to Minnesota” post for Twinkie Town. I thought of one good joke (telling him to change his name to fit in better, and suggesting that Star Tribune beat writer Joe Christensen had done the same.) And then I padded the whole thing out with what I thought were gentle jokes about Minnesota, my home state.

I thought the post might draw a few smiles, maybe even a few knowing guffaws. But it would seem that the resulting post may be one of the two or three most popular things I’ve ever written.

I’m flattered by the reaction, but also a bit nervous. I thought this one was good but not great. Is it possible I just have no idea what’s funny?