Los Suns

[Chad Sietsema]

Does anybody remember the Saturday Night Live sketch where Chris Farley played the part of 'El Nino?' In a big booming voice, Farley pronounces, "I AM EL NINO! In English that means... the Nino!" What a guy! Which two SNL actors are more sorely missed than Chris Farley and Phil Hartman? Okay, let's make it which three and throw in John Belushi, too.

But getting back to the El Nino sketch, isn't the punch line of the above quote kind of what's happening in tonight's NBA playoff game involving the Phoenix Suns? In an effort to show support for the latino community with the recent developments in the state of Arizona, Phoenix's NBA team will tonight don their uniforms with the words "Los Suns" embroidered across the front of their jerseys. Isn't the spanish word for Sun "Sol"? Shouldn't the jerseys read "Los Sols"? I know, I know, haven't I got other things to worry about?... and all that. Just struck me as kind of funny. Thank goodness we're not having problems with Germans trying to cross the border in to Arizona, or perhaps tonight the jerseys would read... "Die Suns"

[Bob Jentges]

I think most people want to show support for those in the latino community who are in this country legally.

When about 70% of Arizona citizens polled support the Arizona law it seems to me the NBA Phoenix Suns franchise using the name "Los Suns" for even one game, might be more of a political statement than a demonstration of support for the latino community.

I do not think sports should be political!

[Chad Sietsema]

Originally Posted by Bob Jentges

I think most people want to show support for those in the latino community who are in this country legally.

When about 70% of Arizona citizens polled support the Arizona law it seems to me the NBA Phoenix Suns franchise using the name "Los Suns" for even one game, might be more of a political statement than a demonstration of support for the latino community.

I do not think sports should be political!

Agreed, Bob. It was a political statement, and that would be the more appropriate way of stating it. And while I don’t think that sports need to be unilaterally absent of political views, I recognize that the bottom line is the fans paid their hard earned money at the ticket booth to see a basketball game. My original post, though, wasn’t intended to indicate my agreement or disagreement with the Phoenix Suns’ decision to wear the jerseys, but more to point out what I considered to be something humorous… making only the one word, “the”, appear in Spanish.
I appreciate what you wrote, however, as I can recall a concert I attended about ten years ago at the Minnesota State Fair. Midway through the performance, the music stopped for a few minutes, and the star of the show lectured the captive audience about the overconsumption of fossil fuels in the USA. A couple of things occurred to me… 1.) I considered what it was that I had driven to the show; a Toyota Camry, while behind the stage I could plainly see the tour bus the performer had arrived in, as well as the semi-trucks that had hauled her equipment to the show. I was pretty sure it wasn’t the first time she had made this particular speech, and I’m pretty sure she didn’t ride a bicycle to her next show. And 2.) It’s okay for celebrities to have political views, but I had paid to see and hear a concert; not a political speech. As popular as this woman is in American culture, I’m quite certain that Larry King would be more than happy to have her as a guest, and she can say whatever she likes about fuel consumption. Perhaps she could even enlighten us as to what kind of mileage those 18-wheelers get. If not Larry King, then any number of other interviewers, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Keith Olbermann, etc., or a magazine or two. These days maybe she could even tell us what she thinks about “Los” Phoenix Suns.