In the sport of basketball, there are several words or phrases, which could be a kind of slang, to express the player’s emotions on the court. These have developed over time to make an appropriate, motivating way to convey the player’s energy with what he/she has just done. The three phrases I researched were: “all day,” “get that crap out of here,” and “hacked.”
When players are on fire, they tend to say “all day” to their defender. This means that the player can keep playing the way they are for the whole game, mainly to embarrass the victim of their awesomeness. Using this phrase also gets the crowd excited because they know that those two players will try to rival the other’s efforts throughout the whole game, creating a dazzling display of fancy dribbling and tough jump shots. But if the player that’s on fire cannot keep playing the way they were, they get humiliated and their reputation is stained from their cockiness.
Blocked shots are arguably the most exciting thing to see on the basketball court. This is also the best motivator for a player on the court that some call “The Garden of Eden.” When there is a very good block that goes flying, the player has the right to say “get that crap out of here!” The blocker wants their opponent to stay out of their way, out of their “house.” The glory felt when experiencing this feeling of blocking a basketball “out of the park” cannot be explained: it can only be imagined.
Everyone gets into the game after a few good crossovers and touch jump shots. Eventually, fouls are inevitable, but some of these fouls are missed by the ref and aren’t called. Hard fouls are the best, though. Players usually say they got “hacked” by their foe. This is a way to voice their disappointment without getting in trouble, but if they take it to far, a technical foul will be called. Their emotions will be “hacked” after that call.
Basketball has been here for over a century, so some slang was unavoidable. But this makes the game more exciting to watch and hear about. Basketball slang will continue to evolve as time goes on, and it will continue to motivate both the audience and the players. It will continue to make a difference in the very game basketball.
~Chamalmy
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