Thursday, April 26, 2012

Disney Princesses in Sports


            With the Stanley Cup Playoffs in full effect, it’s understandable that people don’t seem that excited about the NBA.  Don’t worry, I don’t blame you.  The NHL Playoffs are like cocaine, and three Game Sevens over the course of two nights is the equivalent to stumbling upon Tony Montana’s Colombian Cocaine Kingdom from Scarface (except nobody gets strangled out of a helicopter).*

**Sidenote: I know, a sidenote this early?  Yeah, deal with it.  Anyway, if you have a friend struggling with a cocaine addiction, invite him over to watch a Stanley Cup Playoffs Game Seven for a team that he is a fan of.  It might take some timing, but it’ll happen (unless he’s an Islanders fan… in which case he’s fucked).  I guarantee that by the time the third period starts, cocaine will be the farthest thing from his mind.  He’ll be sitting 0.3 inches away from the TV screen, sweating profusely, breathing heavily, and yelping every time someone takes a shot… On second thought, you might want to have him watch in the guest room…**

            Enough with all this drug talk.  What are you, an addict?  Stop it.  Now, back to the NBA.  The Association hasn’t really been putting up a fight to keep its viewers watching these past couple of days.  I mean, the only “relevant” storyline is the Bobcats tanking like they’re in World War I.  Everybody has known who the playoffs teams are for days, if not weeks (even my Knicks clinched like five days ago), the seeding is pretty much set, Pop has been resting the Spurs starters since the All Star Break, and there are only so many ways to make Metta World Peace-elbow jokes.*

**My tweet after it happened:

@KittyKatzMcGoo: Metta tomahawks Harden and the future of World Peace looks bleak... #DJLR

(Yes, embarrassingly enough, that is my real twitter name, and yes, I actually did hashtag DJLR)**

            The playoffs can’t come soon enough.  We could break down every single first round matchup, talk about what the Knicks have to do to beat the Heat, discuss why not going for home court in the first round will come back to haunt the Celtics, and preform an in-depth breakdown of what’s more painful to watch: The Shining or a Bobcats-Wizards game, but that would take too long and 99% of you would probably stop reading after this sentence (thanks Mom and Dad).  Soooo, DJLR has decided to do something a little more kid-friendly:


Disney Princesses In Sports
            In case you can’t read script (like me until the 11th grade) or you’re just in disbelief staring at the screen, the title says “Disney Princesses in Sports.”  No, this is not a typo.  You know how when a huge underdog makes an unlikely run in the playoffs they are called a “Cinderella” team?  Well that got us to thinking, why don’t we use other Disney Princesses to label teams in unique sports situations?  Well, we couldn’t find a good reason, so here are just a couple of Disney Princess labels:


Cinderella:



Classic Cinderella.  Everybody knows the deal.  Team that nobody expects comes out of the blue to upset a heavy favorite, and makes an unlikely run in the playoffs.  The franchise doesn’t have any true marquee players, but for some reason they’re really gelling as a team right now.  On most occasions, the glass slipper breaks and the team’s story is cut short along the way, but a true Cinderella makes it to the Finals and wins in thrilling fashion.  The Cinderella is normally from a small market, but a big market team that has been perennially bad can also qualify (ex: Mets, Islanders). 

Alternative Names: David (in David vs. Goliath), Underdog Ursula

Common Quotations Regarding Team’s Victory:
“It’s a MIRACLE!”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Who the fuck is [insert Cinderella here]?!?!”

Examples in History: 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team

Examples in 2012 NBA Playoffs (if they win): Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz


Ariel:

Now we move on to Ariel from The Little Mermaid.  Ariel desperately wanted to be human, but sadly, she was born as some freakish half-fish half-human hybrid.  I’ve been hearing rumors saying that she dies at the end, but that’s not the Little Mermaid I remember, so eff dat.  How does this relate to sports?  Well, an “Ariel” is a team that plays well one way, but desperately tries to play another way and they suck.  The team always loses because they try to be something they’re not, and this dooms their chances.

Alternative Names: Changing Charlotte, Identity-Crisis Iris

Common Quotations Regarding Team’s Play:
“What are they doing?!?”
“Stop messing around and play!”
“This isn’t the same team I’ve been watching all season.”

Examples in History: 2011 New York Jets (second half of season)

Examples in 2012 NBA Playoffs: Los Angeles Lakers (when they don’t give the ball to Kobe)


Sleeping Beauty:


            Ahh, Sleeping Beauty.  Sleeping Beauty is asleep for most of her movie, so I don’t know why she’s so popular.  The name in sports really has nothing to do with the movie, but rather about the name itself.  Sleeping Beauties have the potential to be great, and have moments of greatness; however, they currently are in a winning slumber.  Everyone is afraid of them because they know that they could wake up at any time, but as of now they aren’t going anywhere.  Her talent is visible; she’s just not awake so it’s a little weird.

Alternative Names: Potential Patty, Scary-Team-To-Play Stephanie

Common Quotations Regarding Team’s Play:
“They’ve got potential.”
“I wouldn’t want to see them in the playoffs”
“JUST WAKE UP ALREADY.”

Examples in History: 2011 Philadelphia Eagles

Examples in 2012 NBA Playoffs: New York Knicks


Mulan:

            Ohhhh you forgot about Mulan, didn’t you?  That’s the point.  Mulan was a freaking great movie, except nobody talks about her anymore.  Mulan is a badass warrior princess who is the only one of the Disney princess who actually fights for what she wants.  She also has a witty fire-breathing dragon named Mushu as a sidekick!! It gets me choked up just thinking about it.  Anyway, a Mulan is a team that has flown under the radar, but is still really good and teams realize this once they face them. 

Alternative Names: Underrated Uma

Common Quotations Regarding Team’s Play:
“Wow, I didn’t know these guys were that good.”
“Where have they been all year?”
“Shit, I picked against them in my fantasy bracket…”

Examples in History: 2011 Dallas Mavericks

Examples in 2012 NBA Playoffs: Memphis Grizzlies (before everybody realized they were a Mulan)


            Weird how Disney created these characters to fit so perfectly for sports… that or maybe I’m just taking this a little too far…

Shoutout to NYR and MSG

#DJLR

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