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SPORTS
Trash talk works on ovorybody
By Ryan Gordy
Staff Writer
It happens in every sport. Lebron James does
it. Ray Lewis does it. Derek Jeter does it. Michael
Jordan, Deion Sanders, and Hank Aaron did it too.
Do you want to be just like these past and present
athletes? Have you ever wanted to intimidate your
opponent with ridiculous taunts that may or may
not be true? Ever wanted to talk about your friend's
mother while competing in sports? If the answer is
yes, then trash talking is for you.
"My style is impetuous. My defense is impreg
nable and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart. I want
to eat his children. Praise be to Allah," said Mike
Tyson right before the heavyweight title fight against
Lennox Lewis.
As far as trash talking goes, his words make no
sense at all. This is exactly the reason why they are so
intimidating and frightening.
Athletes who are media loudmouths who express
their thoughts and feelings to the world on a daily
basis, like Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, are
Kevin Garnett, current forward for the Boston
Celtics, is considered a top trash talker of the NBA
not true trash talkers. The best trash talkers are
athletes who bite their tongues and keep silent until
game day.
The trash talking commences on the field to dis
rupt the player's mental concentration so the trash
talker can get inside his victim's head. Getting inside
an opponent's head is crucial because they aren't
going to concentrate on competing but rather what
is being said about them. As soon as the opponent's
mind isn't fully engaged in the game, mistakes are
made.
Talking trash works for everybody and most
importantly it works on everybody. It is just a
question of about what type of insults you're weak
against. The art of talking trash lies in finding your
opponent's vulnerability.
However, anybody who actually means what they
say in the area of talking trash is absurd. It's called
trash talking because most of what athletes use to
intimidate players is, well, trash. This means the
language used is either profanity or crazy insults that
don't actually have value. The goal is to persuade the
opponent lose their focus and become more suscep
tible even if it is only for a few moments.
Phrases like "these two points are for your mama,"
and "say hello to your wife and my kid" can be jar
ring even for professional athletes. Trash talking can
also be used to insult a team to get your team fired up
for a game. Former NFL tight-end Shannon Sharpe
was a master at this.
"Home Depot doesn't sell enough nails and ply
wood to fix what's wrong with their defense,"
Sharper said in response to the Colt's lingering
defensive problems.
Sometimes trash talking is about boosting your
ego and playing up your abilities to frustrate oppo
nents to make them feel that you are unbearable. Hall
of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders was great at this
tactic.
"The cheerleaders were there to celebrate. I was
there to score defensively. So I tried not to get too
excited about getting into the end zone. I'd been there
before and I was always planning to go back soon,"
Sanders said.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) cham
pionship series between the Chicago Bulls and Utah
Jazz in 1997 is the all-time pinnacle of effective trash
talking. The first game of the series was played on
a Sunday. As Jazz star Karl Malone stepped to the
free-throw line, the game was tied with less than 10
seconds left.
Malone's nickname was "The Mailman" because
he made numerous shots in crunch time in situa
tions like this. However, Bulls Hall of Fame forward
Scottie Pippen took a jab at Malone right before he
shot his two free-throws, and said the famous line,
"The Mailman doesn't deliver on Sunday."
It turned out Pippen made the right call as Malone
missed both shots, which allowed for Michael Jordan
to hit one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in
sports history to give the Bulls the win.
The state of music in sports
"Are You Ready For This?" booms from the loudspeakers as the
basketball players enter onto the court. Fans scream and cheer. The
stadium is full of life.
There are musical traditions in sports: cheering for certain teams,
beginning a game with the national anthem, and singing "We Are
The Champions" after winning a tournament.
In almost every sports game, there is some type of music. In base
ball, music is always playing over the loudspeakers as the players
run bases and strike out. In basketball, music is often used in the
teams' entrances and during warm-ups. Football does not use music
much, except between plays so as to not distract the athletes, but it
keeps a high standard during the Super Bowl half-time show.
Players in all sports have a playlist or certain songs they listen to
before their games.
Senior Matthew Hayes on the men's rugby team listens to "In the
Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, and considers it an "amazing pump-up
song."
But what if there wasn't music in sports? What if you only heard
the crack of the baseball bat against the ball and roaring of the crowd,
but no trumpet blaring, "CHARGE!"
Without music in sports, you would hear commentators drone
on about statistics of players or over-analyze a play. Without music,
sports would lose the fun and exciting moments brought by music
and become dull.
Music creates anticipation; for example, the wait for the seventh
inning stretch when the loudspeakers boom out 'Take Me Out To
The Ball Game."
And what about all the songs that were made popular because
they're now sports anthems? Like "We Will Rock You," "Eye Of The
Tiger," "Rock and Roll Part 2," "We Are the Champions," "Get Ready
for This," "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)," "Whoop! There It
Is," and "Jump Around."
Any of these songs might not have become music icons if it
weren't for the fact that they were used during warm-ups, team
entrances, or half-time.
The song, "Get Ready For This," may have never become so iconic
if it hadn't been used in basketball games.
"Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" may have never become
popular had it not been for the football movie "Remember the Titans."
Without music in sports, we would lose a whole tradition of
shouting, yelling, and singing in the stands. We would lose the
excitement of a simple drumroll before a free-throw. We would lose
a vital part of the whole experience.