What's In A Name?

The college football season is almost over; only the truly big (from yesteryear) bowl games and, of course, the FBS championship game, remain. As I reviewed my bowl game picks (not so accurate)  and, looking forward,  poured over the list of upcoming PGA golf tournaments for the 2019, 2020 PGA season, I notced a peculiar similarity:  there were some incredibly goofy names for these events on both sides of the ledger.  So, let’s test your knowledge.  I am going to provide a name of an event; you guess whether it is a bowl game or a golf tournament:

1.  Cheribundi Boca Raton – bowl or PGA event

2.  Tropical Smoothie Café  – bowl or PGA event

3.  Rocket Mortgage – bowl or PGA event

4.  FBC Mortgage Cure – bowl or PGA event

5. Bermuda – bowl or PGA event

6. Makers Wanted Bahamas – bowl or PGA event

7. San Diego County Credit Union– bowl or PGA event

8. Mayakoba – bowl or PGA event

9. Corales Puntacana – bowl or PGA event

10. Valero Alamo – bowl or PGA event

11.  Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla – bowl or PGA event

12.  Mitsubishi Motors – bowl or PGA event

13. WGC-DELL Technologies – bowl or PGA event

14. Genesis - – bowl or PGA event

15. Barracuda – bowl or PGA event

16. Tony The Tiger – bowl or PGA event

17. Famous Idaho Potato – bowl or PGA event

18. Barbasol – bowl or PGA event

19. WGC-FedEx St. Jude – bowl or PGA event

20..  Camellia – bowl or PGA event

Answers:

1. What’s a Cheribundi?

2. Got to be a bowl (I think)

3. Got to be a PGA event

4. Wait a minute, are you sure?

5. Great place to visit, regardless of the event

6. Ditto.  Bahamas, not Elk Village.  But support this event for a worthy cause.

7.  Worst name ever, regardless of the event.

8.  See 1.

9.  See 8 and 1.

10. “Alamo” gives it away – bowl.

11.  Seriously, what’s a “Gasparilla”? By the way, what’s a pirate’s favorite letter?  Arrhh!! (or "C", depending on your audience).

12.  No clue.

13.  PGA event; finally found one.

14.  Great band; otherwise, no clue.

15.  Great song by Heart; must be a PGA event.

16. Whatever it is, you have got to be kidding me.

17. Got to be a bowl – of spuds!

18. Forget which event; you have to guess in what famous movie this product’s can  is an important prop. Watch out for your little friends, Newman!

19.  PGA event – and another good cause.

20. Extra credit (bonus points)  if you guess that Camellia is not just a 2019 bowl game but also the name of the 10th Hole, ‘Camellia’, at Augusta National Golf Club, nestled in the so-called Cathedral of Pines, often described as the toughest hole on the course.

If you think some of these names were a bit unusual, then you must play The Name Game.  These lyrics are proof (if you needed any) that the ‘60s were a wild time, especially musically.

THE NAME GAME

Lyrics:  Shirley Elliston-Lincoln Chase) 

Words & Music Copyright November 18, 1964

Publisher:        Embassy Music Corporation

                        EMI Al Gallico Music Corp.

The name game. Shirley! Shirley, Shirley
Bo-ber-ley, bo-na-na fanna
Fo-fer-ley. fee fi mo-mer-ley, Shirley!

Lincoln! Lincoln, Lincoln. bo-bin-coln
Bo-na-na fanna, fo-fin-coln
Fee fi mo-min-coln, Lincoln!

Come on ev'rybody, I say now let's play a game
I betcha I can make a rhyme out of anybody's name
The first letter of the name
I treat it like it wasn't there
But a "B" or an "F" or an "M" will appear
And then I say "Bo" add a "B" then I say the name
Then "Bo-na-na fanna" and "fo"
And then I say the name again with an ""f" very plain
Then "fee fi" and a "mo"
And then I say the name again with an "M" this time
And there isn't any name that I can't rhyme
Arnold! Arnold, Arnold bo-bar-nold
Bo-na-na, fanna fo-far-nold
Fee fi m-mar-mold. Arnold!
But if the first two…

Good Luck.

Copyright R.E. Kelly 2012-2020

AMDG

We'll Tak' a Cup o' Kindness Yet, for Auld Lang Syne

I have posted about this special topic before, but forgive me if I beg your indulgence once again. It bears repeating as we leave one decade behind and move forward to a new one. And remember to take  a cup of kindness while you are it.

Whether the world knows it or not, a large swath of humanity pays homage to Robert Burns, the poet laureate of Scotland, when celebrating the New Year.  His poem and song, Auld Lang Syne, written in 1788, will be sung at midnight by hundreds of millions of people around the globe, and I would guess that only a minuscule percentage of those revelers will know who wrote it and what it means. (The phrase Auld Lang Syne can be roughly translated as “old times” or “days gone by”.)

While I could find no reference to Robert Burns playing golf during a quick trip through the Internet, I believe he was a sportsman, as he was a member of the Royal Company of Archers in 1792.  And Burns was born in Ayrshire, home of several of the world’s greatest courses (Royal Troon, Turnberry and Prestwick Golf Club, the home of the first Open Championship).  

The best-laid schemes...

While the game of golf predates Auld Lang Syne by centuries (the first documented mention of golf in Scotland appears in a 1457 Act of the Scottish Parliament, an edict issued by King James II of Scotland prohibiting the playing of the games of golf and football  as these were a distraction from archery practice for military purposes) it’s hard to imagine a true Scotsman who does not (and for many centuries did not) have golf in his blood.  So give a passing thought to Rabbie (not Rabbi) Burns when you drunkenly warble his melancholy tribute to days gone by at midnight tonight, and dream later of making memories in the future from rounds of golf shared with family and friends.

Here are the original words to perhaps the world’s most famous poem:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne.?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stoup!
and surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
sin' auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
sin' auld lang syne.

Happy New Year!!

Copyright R.E. Kelly 2012-2021

AMDG