NBA Blog Etymology & Its Implications, pt. I

Karate Kid 2 was on AMC last night…I watched some of it. Lol it was great.

isn’t it funny that there has been no Rightious Backlash to the phrase “Drinking the Koolaid”. I mean there has been a least 3 or 4 fanposts denouncing the use of the term “Pritchslap” (along with around 1000 comments) and it was just derived a Pimp smacking a Ho. Where as the Koolaid one is derived from a mass suicide of nearly a 1000 people and it’s use appears to be accepted without question. BTW this is NOT a call to ban the phrase “Drinkin’ the Koolaid”, just an observation on some of the skewed priorities people sometimes have on here

“drink the koolaid” is a suicide cult reference? Dave used to say “jumped the shark” at times and when the “Buffet of Goodness” said he did not need to be “cupcaked” I had to ask what those things meant.” We all like inside jokes and being part of a group that uses obscure references so that outsiders have to asked what things mean. I remember a member of the purple and gold blog talking about why we write L*kers and writing that he hoped we actually liked his team. Symbolic references, that is, single words that imply many words or other meaning can come from worldly endeavors. Here however, most symbolic references are derived from the dialog between Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Star, or perhaps, Hank the Cowdog.

Do these things generate a new language? While one at times does have to scratch ones head, I think English is strong and flexible enough to incorporate these little foibles.

Jim Jones and his congregation at Jonestown killed a US Congressman (Leo Ryan) and then committed mass suicide by drinking cyanide laced Kool-aid (AKA jonestown tea).
The phrase “drinking the kool-aid” and all it’s forms stem directly from that and has been in use for way longer than Simmons has been writing terrible columns. For instance, on gun forums, the M1911A1 people sometimes refer to the 9mm crowd as “kool-aid drinking Glock lovers.” Anyhow, the reference is not an online only reference like “I can haz cheeseburger?” or something like that.

Basically any community will form a new vocabulary for things that are discussed frequently. In an online community that linguistic evolution is amplified because we are too lazy to type “Raef LaFrenz’s expiring contract” each time.

I know where it really comes from, but I like to think of it as a positive – like, you’ve been dedicated enough to stay through the entire service at the Church of Blazers, and now you’re across the hall in the fellowship area drinking KP’s Kool-Aid and chatting with three old ladies who like your long hair and keep asking about Oregon State (even though you go to a private school in southern California).

is the reference point I prefer to the Guyana Guru’s poison

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electric_Kool-Aid_Acid_Test
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown

I think the journalism perspective from Tom Wolfe’s book is useful in this context.

word the most precise analog to your post’s intent?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dork

I apologize for kinda going off topic on this thread. I know you were fishing for expressions that might constitute a new language of sorts for blogging or sports blogging in general and we went off on this Koolaid tangent. I am sorry

but it gets so much burn here that for all intents and purposes I think we should make a new term that only has meaning to us. Let’s make it something to do with Josh Howard. Or Darius Miles. Also as a side point of interest to your post, it’s interesting how things that don’t directly pertain to sports are brought up so often, like Cold Stone ice cream. Maybe we should find a link to post everytime somebody gets into Cold Stone that takes them to an ice cream forum.

I love the idea of nicknames, even if they are only used here. I love the various terms for that cellpool to the south and all of it’s denizens. I have even coined the name FlowBee (it sucks and it cuts) for number 24 and was gratified when it was used by another poster. I am a current proponent for using BoomBoom when referring to BlazerFan1’s newest beau (Batum to the uninitiated). I have become converted to using T-Rex ( I was in favor of Gator but it didn’t take off ) since Bayless is ferocious with short arms. The Vanilla Gorilla is gonna go Godzilla on yer second string village. Oden is the God of Thunder (all of you Mythology majors…stop before coming in to point out my mistakes and spoil my fun). The Natural is the Royal One and true king of the killer crossover. The Webslinger and The Trout make an effective superhero Dynamic duo at the 3. Let’s see Spanish Chocolate …well let’s face it …sucks and we won’t even start with “Blakey” ...ugh! LMA (not LA…never LA) and The Buffet are awesome.

So your Mission if you chose to accept it…..Come up with some exceptable Name de plumes for Blake, Rodriguez, and Fernandez (and I better not hear S-Rod or R-Fern….BRoy is bad enough).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowbee >>FlowBee

I frequent this blog often, as most probably know. I read drinking the Koolaid comment all the time and could be , or even should be offended because I have a personal and devestating connection to cults. However, Jones Town Massacre is no longer the first thing that comes to mind. THis term is used EVERWHERE to imply that one party is blindly following another party. I think it would be innapropriate for say, John McCain to state that supporters of Barack Obama were all sippin the KoolAid, but this isn’t a political nomination at BEdge…its a freaking sports blog . And because I know that anyone who types “drinking the koolaid” isn’t directly referring to cults in order to inflict pain and personally attack me (how selfish would that be) i choose to take it for what it is meant to mean.

The term PritchSlap is a little more distasteful, but again this is a sports blog and most of us think it’s funny. In regards to all those fanposts that got 800 recs and 1 million comments stating we need to “cease and decist the use of PritchSlap because it makes us look smug ” , really all the rec’s and posting comments were those who drank the posters KooLAid and thought that sounding nice on a sports blog is classy or something.. And then, those same people revert back to using pritchslap b/c they remember its far easier and more efficient to type “pritch slap” than say “he got over on them” “keving pritchard stole these players” “kp got a bargain “

Sophia

The term “pritchslapped” has been overplayed. It’s time is over, in my opinion.

Also..not on this site, thankfully, but all over the web whenever I see someone use the word ‘rape’ ..like, “man, the Nuggets really got raped on that deal” .. I get really offended. No real personal reason for it..but it’s a harsh word that represents a horrible scenario. I cringe when I read it.