Ohioan cultural identity

Hi Reddit. I used to live near Cedar Point, right between Toledo and Cleveland in a small coastal town.

What marks Ohio culture? I ask not in a way to throw shade at Ohio, but I currently live abroad and I"m not sure how to describe Ohioans to people and what it's like; recently Ohio has become meme-ified and everyone is asking me to explain.

What i mean by culture is like, at least in my perspective, we Ohioans are really generic bunch; most people work, party with friends, and do family events. I've lived in other parts of the country, where the culture seems to be more different. In Colorado the people are really into fitness, the great outdoors, etc...in Boston/New England I had to learn completely new English words, huge seafood and other gastronomic traditions, etc.

I thought that maybe leaving Ohio would give me better perspective to what is Ohioan, and the only thing that really stands out to me is that I say "pop" instead of Soda and that buckeyes are a delicious holiday food. Many people write about the love for football, but I've tailgated in multiple states. I don't think it's a uniquely Ohio experience.

So I guess what I'm asking is do we have anything unique in Ohio customs that differentiates from mainstream American culture or are we like one of those strip malls where you don't know where you could be in Kansas, Florida, or California and the stores would be the same, generic and dull? Is there an Ohio identity ?