Springsteen or Bon Jovi. The Definitive Jersey Debate, Settled by the Staff at Jersey Girl Hot Sauce

It’s a tale of two New Jerseys. And no, I’m not talking about the debate of North Jersey versus South Jersey.

Firstly, as a Bergen County boy, it’s North Jersey. 

End of story. 

Maybe. 

Well, I guess South Jersey has a good portion of the Shore, but those savages can keep their sand. In North Jersey we’re cosmopolitan. We’re pretend New Yorkers. That’s the closest you can get to being a New Yorker without having to pay rent with one of your kidneys.

Anyway, now that I’ve offended most of the TriState area, let’s go ahead and continue that trend by discussing who is the better rock’n’roll and NJ icon: Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen or Jon “Bon Jovi” Bon Jovi.

Let’s start from the start: one is “The Boss” the other is nicknamed with a mispronunciation of his own name. That doesn’t sound very “Boss” to me.

But alright, I’ll concede that Bon Jovi—especially in some of his earlier albums—has some absolute bangers. “Runaway” is a classic 80s hair metal ripper. It’s as close to thrash metal as someone in leather pants with feathered hair can get, and as a big thrash metal fan, I can honestly respect it. That high note at the end is absurd, and I can’t really imagine Bruce hitting a note like that without sounding like someone threw gravel into a woodchipper.

Jokes aside, I personally love Bruce Springsteen. I can listen to Jonny Boy, for sure, but growing up, my dad—a Freehold native—sang me to sleep with “Thunder Road.” I spent hours upon hours in the car with him listening to “Born to Run” and “Born in the USA” on repeat.

Bruce is one of the reasons I play music, one of my favorite things to share with my dad, and really, a core piece of my NJ identity.

With that said, what’s the rest of the Jersey Girl staff think? Well, it’s actually pretty lopsided. Of the folks that responded to my totally professional email of… 

“Bruce or Bon Jovi? 

Thanks, 

Ryan,”

…it ended up split 3 to 1 for Bruce.

Mike, Craig, and Katie all came in saying “Bruce and Thunder Road are so Jersey,” “Bruce feels like Jersey, Bon Jovi is just from Jersey,” and “Bruce sings about loving a Jersey Girl, so that puts him ahead.”

HOWEVER, Wendy, THE Jersey Girl, the one who makes the sauce, the Supreme Queen of Peppers, picked Bon Jovi, stating that Bruce is “actually Bon Jovi’s idol. Bon Jovi set the stage for hair and glam metal and personally stole my heart decades ago with ‘It’s My Life’ and ‘Who Says You Can’t Go Home.’”

So, there you have it folks. The Jersey Girl herself had her heart stolen by Bon Jovi. Against all odds, we have a winner. Sorry to “The Boss,” but Bon Jovi is “The Sauce.”

Have your own opinion? Let us know in the comments! Want to get your own bottle of Jersey Girl Hot Sauce? Duh, of course you do. Grab some here.