This is one war I'd like to see go on forever.

Southern Indiana Arby's Starts Sign War with Next-Door Neighbor

I was heading south on First Avenue toward Diamond Avenue on Evansville's north side Monday afternoon when the sign for Arby's in front of Schnuck's caught my eye. While normally signs at fast food restaurants mention whatever deal they're currently running, this one referenced a product being sold by the neighboring restaurant, McDonald's. Specifically, the McRib Sandwich which the company recently brought back for supposedly the final time. Although, the sign didn't call it by its name. Instead, it gave it a name that rhymed with McRib but clearly took a jab at the sandwich.

Ryan O'Bryan
Ryan O'Bryan
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If that's a little hard to read, here's a close-up of the marquee by itself.

Ryan O'Bryan
Ryan O'Bryan
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In case you don't know, in anticipation of the return of the McRib, Arby's has created and is currently selling its own rib sandwich, the Real Country Style Rib Sandwich it describes as being made with, "Texas pit-smoked country style pork rib." Instead of a ground pork patty shaped to look like a small rack of ribs, the Real Country Style Rib Sandwich features thick slices of pork that don't actually come from the rib of a pig. They come from the shoulder, but are cut to look like small, boneless ribs.

Shots fired.

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McDonald's Responds

There are two schools of thought when someone takes a verbal shot at you like this. 1) You can be the bigger person (or in this case, business) and ignore them while telling yourself they're only doing it because they feel threatened by you. Or, 2) You can stand up for yourself and try to put them in their place by responding with a shot of your own. Fortunately for all of us, McDonald's chose option 2.

Ryan O'Bryan
Ryan O'Bryan
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Here's a closer look.

Ryan O'Bryan
Ryan O'Bryan
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Personally, I would have liked to see McDonald's come back with a little bit of a sharper barb, but I respect the fact they took the high road by simply standing up for themselves without resorting to childish name-calling. With that said, childish name-calling is far more entertaining. I think something like, "Beef & Cheddar? More Like Beef & Never," or maybe, "Our meats won't make you run for the toilet seat." (I'm not very good at this myself, but you get the idea.)

What I'm really hoping for though is for the other fast food restaurants, and even some of the non-food businesses on First Avenue to get in on the action. I'm talking to you Popeye's. You too, Subway. Burger King, Wendy's, Dunkin, Taco Bell, you all need to jump in on this too. If we're going to have a true sign war, we need all multiple parties involved. Show us what you got. I'll have my popcorn ready for the show.

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