Hornswaggler | The culture, the humor, a bit of the sports, not so much the politics, and the workplace distraction
Hornswaggle is an alternate spelling of
hornswoggle, an archaic word that means to bamboozle or hoodwink. I take my
pronunciation from the late Harvey Korman in "Blazing Saddles" --
"I want rustlers, cutthroats, murderers,
bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits,
vipers, snipers, conmen, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers,
buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswagglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train
robbers, bank robbers, ass kickers, shit kickers and Methodists!"
Caught the Milwaukee Bucks' late surge to win Game 5 against the heavily favored Atlanta Hawks last night in Atlanta. That was a nice little collapse by the Hawks, who now face elimination down 3-2, though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This is not a group of players known for their mental toughness.
But the worst part about it was something I've seen in other arenas but which was acute last night: the public address announcer (or a recording of his voice) cueing the crowd (which was flat, either because they're terrible fans or they were paralyzed by their team's incipient choke job) to chant "Let's go, Hawks" while they were on offense in the final minutes and "Defense" while they were on the other side of the court. On the one hand, the fans should be embarrassed that they're so weak that the announcer feels they need to be guided like little children playing pin the tail on the donkey at a birthday party. On the other hand, chants should arise organically, and I think I might be so insulted as a fan to hear that crap that I'd refuse to participate on principle. Either way, bad sports night in the ATL.
