Now even ESPN2 is in on the act. I was watching my WVU Mountaineers take it to #8 Oklahoma tonight (final score 92-68), and I noticed something appalling. They are calling the basketball games “Holiday Hoops.”
Not Christmas Hoops. Holiday Hoops.
Why does ESPN hate the baby Jesus? Someone call Gibson and O’Reilly.
tbrosz
Simple answer? “Holiday Hoops” just sounds cooler than “Christmas Hoops.”
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
The Disenfranchised Voter
Well apparently tbrosz hates Christmas…
demimondian
Geez, John! All we hear is the complaining about names like “Holiday Hoops”. Why aren’t we hearing the good things about the exploitation of semi-professional atheletes?
Pooh
TNT just showed a “Happy Holidays” bumper. They REALLY hate Christmas.
(Oh and Charles Barkley opened the studio show by looking under the desk to “see if the Republicans have us bugged”)
Krista
Alliteration makes for good marketing. They could have called it “Hannukah Hoops”, I guess.
The Disenfranchised Voter
Hahaha, did he really?
Pb
As I saw mentioned elsewhere, the real irony is that the origin of the word “holiday” comes from “holy day” [Middle English holidai, holy day, from Old English hālig dæg : hālig, holy; see holy + dæg, day; see day.]
Which begs the question, why do Republicans think that the baby Jesus hates religion… (or does this go back to that “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me” commandment? Oh well.)
Paul Wartenberg
This is getting ridiculous.
Look. Christmas really isn’t even Jesus’ real birthday! It was originally a Roman pagan fertility holy day called Saturnalia. The Romans instituted the Birth of Christ over it when one of their crazy-ass Emperors had a holy vision to unite his realm under a fear-inducing guilt-driving religion (and thus were born those ruler-wielding Catholic Nuns).
Biblical scholars point to September 5th, a Jewish holiday called the Feast of Tabernacles, being the most logical birthday for Jesus. So let’s stop the confusion, move Christmas to September (so long, Labor Day!) and make good old Dec. 25th the rightful pagan holiday we so richly deserve.
Io (pronounced Yo, learn your Latin thank you), Saturnalia!!!
MAX HATS
I’m gonna be buried six deep in the cold hard ground before I acknowledge the existance of jews. Holiday Hoops? Holiday Hoops? I did not fight through Rainbow Six and two different ad-on packs for this sort of travesty. People in this country got to make a choice: do they stand behind the insane idea that private entities can make their own choices regarding religion, or do they stand by AMERICA? Choose wisely, because last I checked thirteen stripes and fifty stars still beat one hammer and one sickle. And so I say through my masculine (yet sensitive) grimace: Merry Christmas.
Your turn, Hollywood limpwrists.
The Disenfranchised Voter
A little too crazy MAX HATS…you gotta be a spoof.
MAX HATS
A little slow on the trigger with your choice. What’s wrong, Mr. Voter? Not a fan of the second ammendment??
So, Christmas or will it be Ex-mas?
demimondian
Dunno, MAX HATS. I kind of liked the line about how “People in this country got to make a choice: do they stand behind the insane idea that private entities can make their own choices regarding religion, or do they stand by AMERICA?” My question is, if they got to make a choice, what choice did they make, and when?
The Other Steve
Mad hatter sounds more appro
jg
All kidding aside, I want to punch someone everytime I see that Honda commercial (maybe Toyota) with people singing We Wish You A Happy Holiday. I can understand the PC sentiment behing saying Happy Holidays to not offend people but changing the words to a christmas song? Can’t you just sing a different song? Write a new one?
MAX HATS
I cannot believe this.
ubernerd83
Actually, Saturnalia was originally celebrated about a week or so before December 25. The Roman Holiday of Sol Invictus, however, did take place then.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus
Pooh
DV,
Yes he did. And then they cut to a wide shot just in time to see EJ and the Jet signalling the interns to delete all the porn from their computers, pronto.
fishbane
I see a business opportunity.
Who wouldn’t want to buy a membership that included a card? I’d totally pay $5 to say that I was a card carrying member of the War on Christmas. $7.50, if it had a logo of the Flying Spagetti Monster, and a copy of the Bill of Rights on the back.
Actually, nevermind. I might need to supplement my income in the new year.
DougJ
Paul, what’s ridiculous is the way leftists like you are assaulting our traditions. First, you took prayer out of school, then you instituted mandatory Darwinism, and you’re coming for Christmas. One of the first things Hitler did was to ban Christmas carols. It’s chilling when you think about it.
The Other Steve
How come nobody talks about the rightwing zealots destroying Halloween?
capelza
Now if I say Happy Holidays on the 26th, will I still be warring on Christmas?
Paul Wartenberg
I don’t want to ban Christmas. I just want to move it to September! And if we kick Labor Day out of the way to it, well then it’s bye-bye to that commie-tinted union-hugging holiday and good riddance!
Give Sept. 5th to the Christians and give Dec. 25th to the Pagans! It’s that simple! Io, Saturnalia!
MC
ESPN is just getting desperate because it appears that we’re getting closer to Christmas. This Sunday is going to be momentous – at which point I suspect we’ll have turned the corner.
capelza
I saw on Discovery channel, or one of thoae…where April 17 or 19th was figured as Christ’s birthday..maybe Christams and Easter could combined…Santa Bunny!
DougJ
Look, Paul, you haven’t done anything decent in years. It’s been all downhill since you wrote “Unsatisfied”. If you want to be taken seriously, I suggest you write a decent song for a change. It’s about accountability.
Gold Star for Robot Boy
You mean, there’s a manger at the end of the tunnel?
THAT’S funny.
fwiffo
This whole “War on Christmas” crap has its roots in antisemitism. “Secular liberal” is just today’s code word for “jew” or “kike”. Just that change is enough to transform Henry Ford’s antisemitic rants into Bill O’Reilly’s or John Gibson’s. Note the paranoid references to the the wicked and all-powerful George Soros.
At many points in history, Christmas has been a favorite occasion for persecuting jews. Who’s surpised that some folks are anxious to resume the tradition?
And for fuck’s sake – “Happy Holidays” isn’t political correctness, it’s fucking brevity. Holidays is PLURAL and refers to Christmas, New Years, and sometimes Thanksgiving.
Ancient Purple
The “Happy Holidays” insugency is in its last throes.
Dick Cheney said so himself.
ubernerd83
Yeah…about Hitler’s Christmas carol ban…Puritans in America banned the holiday altogether. Were they some sort of anti-Christian faction in disguise? The witch-hunts were just a cover? Weird….
James
dougie J, back in tha house…
The Other Steve
Your theory is plausible. What better time for the Joshua family to travel to Bethlehem then over the Labor Day weekend.
Anyone who has tried to travel then knows you must make reservations for a hotel long in advance. No wonder they ended up having to stay at a second rate Holiday Inn.
Paul Wartenberg
That was MOONEY! No wait, that was WESTERBERG!
That does it, I’m changing my name to Smithh (I’m adding the extra ‘h’ just in case some idiot wants to add it again for the yearbook… wait that would make it Smithhh… Nooo I’m doomed).
This will not distract me from my true objective: Giving Saturnalia back to the Pagans! Io, Saturnalia!
chef
Re: Sports
Here is a puzzle. If David Stern is so concerned about “hip hop” influence in the NBA, and its dastardly results are so widespread, then explain to me why the absolute #1 best-selling jersey in the NBA is that of ex-Marquette straight arrow Dwyane Wade. I mean, the guy doesn’t even have a single tattoo. He looks like an honest, black version of Ralph Reed.
Why does everyone simply assume today’s best players are lousy role models?
the friendly grizzly
Call it a Christmas tree because that is what it is. I think holiday tree is silly as well.
But I hear all this sniveling about “Oh my GOD! They had the nerve to send me a card that said Seasons Greetings! They hate Christmas and Christians!” Are you sure? Or is the card from a company or family who may want to include everyone, you selfish whiner?
As for Holiday Hoops: maybe that is what they wanted to call them in the first place? Has that occurred to you? Or are you just looking for a reason to snivel? Holiday Hoops has a nice, euphonious ring to it, if you will forgive the pun. But YOU have to see the name as a slam against Christmas. Give me a break.
To those doing all the sniveling, the fact is: Jews, Budhists, Muslims, Sikh, Hindu, Shinto, Wiccan, and yes, atheists or those who have no organised religion live all around you. You’re surrounded by “those people”. Deal with it.
Your religion gets the only PAID federal holiday. You have a lock on the presidency for the forseeable future. Despite the snivelings of O’Reilly and Hannity and that broken-down failed burglar Liddy, you DON’T need to fear for your employment or evaluations if you take off for a religious holiday.
Enough already! You sound like a bunch of feminists.
ats
I lived at the Cite Internationale in Paris and International House in New York. In the course of that time I never heard “Budhists, Muslims, Sikh, Hindu, Shinto, Wiccan,” and etc. complain about Christmas. The grumbles almost always came from atheists and Jews–perhaps because they feel secure enough to do so in our culture. Or is there another reason? It is an interesting topic.
One thing is sure, though. Even O Reilly can’t blame it on Muslims. They seem to be the first to wish me Merry Christmas.