A joke that backfired

Back in the early 1990s, someone from Charleston was invited to speak at a meeting of Huntington's movers and shakers. For some reason, they let me cover it. The name of the speaker and his topic I have long since forgotten. But I do remember him saying this:

"People in Huntington think those of us in Charleston don't like Huntington. We do. In Charleston, if you have a Marshall University sticker on your car, you can park in a handicapped spot."

For some reason, no one laughed, smiled, chuckled or gave any response other than a silent frown.