The New Most Exciting City in Texas is a Complete Shock — and Johnny Manziel is More Stunned Than Anyone

Is College Station really the most exciting city in Texas?

Johnny Manziel is arguably the biggest star in Texas A&M University’s football history, an absolute king anywhere within 50 miles of that campus, and even he hated College Station, the home city of his university. Frankly, he has plenty of company in Texas, too.

“I can’t wait to leave College Station,” Manziel once infamously tweeted, apparently fuming about the city’s small-minded approach (and heavy-handed street-parking regulations). And Manziel is hardly the only one who has thought College Station is more than a little backwards.

Apparently they were all wrong, though: College Station has been named “The Most Exciting City in Texas” in an exhaustive new rankings system (in other words, they didn’t just throw a dart at a Texas map and happen to hit College Station). We kid, because we … sort of … like? Yes, College Station does have more than 100,000 people, including many bright young minds and future CEOs, and more bars than just the legendary Dixie Chicken. But is it really more exciting than Austin (and that tame little strip known as Sixth Street) ? Not to mention Houston, Dallas and San Antonio … bro, please.

Austin did finish second in these Most Exciting City rankings, but Houston (No. 6) was also beaten by Waco (No. 3), Amarillo (No. 4) and Abilene (No. 5), and Dallas (No. 9) is so far back on the list that it might as well be in Oklahoma. What madness produced these rankings? Travel site Gogobot rated the top 35 Texas cities in four categories — hotels per capita, restaurants per capita, bars per capita and outdoor sports per capita — and added the results up to produce its winner.

By ranking in the top five in Texas in all four categories (as if all hotels and restaurants are created equal), College Station ran away with the No. 1 overall spot.

Okay, College Station is the second fastest growing city in America, the newly supersized Kyle Field delivers one of the most exciting college football experiences in America, and nearby Bryan is doing some interesting things with its downtown. But if I’m The Woodlands (No. 28 out of 35), I’m demanding a recount.