September 21 is Civilization V Day!

...in Maryland.

Maryland governor Martin O'Malley issued a proclamation two days ago that calls for the population of Maryland to celebrate Civilization V Day on September 21, the game's release date. This falls somewhat in line with the mayor of Topeka, Kansas issuing a proclamation calling for it to be renamed Google, Kansas in a ploy to get the company to bring its high speed internet "beta" to the town. Though, this one is different in that it doesn't really seem to serve any actual purpose, but instead is just for fun.

“Sid Meier is known throughout Maryland and the world as a pioneer of electronic gaming, having co-founded his first studio in Baltimore County, Maryland in 1982, and today continuing a tradition of developing the talent and creativity of future generations,” the governor’s statement said.

“Now, therefore, I, Martin O’Malley, Governor of the State of Maryland, do hereby pay tribute to the outstanding achievements of Sid Meier on this day, July 28, 2010, and hereby recognize September 21, 2010, as Sid Meier’s Civilization V Day, and call upon the people of our State to join in celebrating this salute.”

Considering Sid Meier's Maryland roots, this proclamation isn't completely bizarre. Of course, the governor is also probably a hardcore Civ fan and just wants to use this as a way of convincing Sid to get him an early copy of the game.