This was me.

The crazy thing about this outstanding ad (at least for me) is that for the first half of my life, I spoke just like this.

I have video of myself prior to moving to Connecticut, and in this clips, I sound exactly like this, in accent, word choice, and even attitude.

My children hear the accent slip out from time to time, as do my students. Certain sentences – depending on the collection of words they contain – are difficult for me. I’ve actually altered the vocabulary in some of the sentences I speak onstage for this very reason.

And when I spend the day at a Patriots game or with friends or family who speak like this, it comes right back for a time.

It’s like another version of me, hidden somewhere inside my body, leaking out from time to time, just waiting to spring forth and take over again.

When I moved to Connecticut back in 1993, my first job was working for the now defunct Back of Hartford. I answered the phone about half a dozen times on my first day, saying, “Bank of Hartford, how may I help you?” before my manager finally asked me to stop answering the phones.

“Bank of Hartford” was coming out like “Bank of Haht-fud.”

Also, when I first moved to Connecticut, everyone thought I was angry and aggressive. All the time.

Some might still think this today.

For the record, this ad handles the Boston-area accent exceptionally well, probably because Krasinski, Dratch, and Evans are all originally from the Boston area. Evans sounds the most authentic to me. Krasinski’s accent sounds a tiny bit off, but overall all three actors nail it.

The New York Post describes the ad by saying that “Massachusetts natives Chris Evans, John Krasinski and Rachel Dratch argue in exaggerated Boston accents.”

The New York Post is wrong. Those accents aren’t exaggerated. This is how people living in the Boston area all their lives sound.

Evan’s opening line, both in words, attitude, and accent, is just perfect, and Krasinski’s reference to Evans as “Kid” is exactly Bostonian. Even the list of places where Krasinski has parked his car is just right.

I’ve heard a lot of bad Boston accents in my time. Credit Hyundai and the folks at Innocean for getting this one right.