Why isn't Utah part of the American story the way Colorado is?

A common phrase I often hear from Utahns is "Salt Lake City is what people think of when they're trying to picture Denver".

The Wasatch Front is the quintessential Western city with a dramatic mountain skyline rising above the cityscape whereas Denver is a Midwestern city built on the prairie 50 miles from noteworthy mountains and with a cultural orientation toward Chicago.

Utah has more easily accessible ski resorts and has hosted the Winter Olympics. Utah is home to the Salt Flats which is the location for hundreds of iconic movie and commercial scenes. And of course Southern Utah has more dramatic desert landscapes and national parks than southern Colorado.

When I lived on the East Coast, people knew practically nothing about Utah because it's not part of the American story. But they did know Colorado.

Social media has flipped the script and now the whole world knows about our state's beauty. But when will we become part of the American story, stop living in Colorado's shadow, and be seen as the crown jewel of the Intermountain West?

We will know for certain when we are part of the American story when we get a car named after us alongside the Tacoma, Malibu, Colorado, Yukon, Santa Fe, Tucson, and Sedona.