SPORTS
team monickers.
Since
NBA has always been my first choice of sports leisure distraction,
Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers easily occupy my fancy. Made me
ponder, most Boston players are African-Americans but they are called
Celtics. The Celts (or Kelts) were an ethno-linguistic group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Medieval Europe--distributed mostly via the Gaels (Irish, Scottish and Manx) and the Brythonic Celts (Welsh, Cornish, and Bretons). I mean, Caucasians/Whites.
I
am over-reading it, I know...
Another
sports nickname that infuriates some (or most) of my Native American
kin and friends is the Redskins, or NFL's Washington Redskins. Yes,
“redskin” is a slang that refers to the indigenous peoples of the
Americas (ie whites, blacks etc). The strongest argument though
centers around alleged atrocities of Penobscot Indians by European
settlers in mid-1700s. American Indian groups posit the the term
redskin was coined in response to a 1755 Proclamation which
institutionalized genocide of the Penobscots. Heavy, isn't it? In
fact, “redskin” doesn't end there.
My
former NYC roomie, Neil Yang (yes, that's his name), claimed to be a
Redskin, not a Cherokee or Navajo (he's ethnic Taiwanese by way of
Ontario, Canada)--but a socialist
or Communist skinhead (also called redskin).
Back
to the NBA. Next season, the New Orleans
Hornets will be called New Orleans Pelicans, which their owners
say, is more appropriate. I just hope that sportscasters cut the
alias to a shortened Lycans, which is also kinda apt, I think—NOLA,
being the setting of many supernatural/underworld novels and movies
(notably Anne Rice's vampire books and Charlaine Harris' "The Southern Vampire Mysteries"--basis for the popular HBO series, "True Blood"--which is set in Louisiana). Lycan
is an alternative name for werewolf.
In the the Underworld film series, Lycans are biologically immortal transgenics--with greatly enhanced physical attributes.
Anyhow, whatever, right?
I
wonder why my home city's sports (baseball) team is called Asheville
Tourists... Tourists are outsiders, not homeys. I mean, why wouldn't
all sports-crazy cities adapt names that somehow connect to local
culture (or subculture)? I mean, Asheville should be called Asheville
Beerguzzlers, for example—being the beer capital of the US.
Meanwhile,
since some teams make no fuss with naming their teams
narcissistic/holier-than-thou (or badder-than-thou) names like (New
Orleans) Saints and (LA/Anaheim) Angels or (New Jersey) Devils... Why
not call teams via unlikely—but admittedly cool/awesome tags to
young, fiery youths... like say, Las Vegas Sinners, Unknown City
Motherfuckers, Pandora Bitches, Krypton Assholes etc etc.
Oh well.
Just watch the game...
