Disclaimer: There is pretty much nothing original in this post. My inspiration comes from this Seattle Times post and the comments. (But at least I'm being honest about it, right?) To make up for it, be sure to stop by Jose's blog and click on every single post and ad you see. (Although I'm pretty sure he'll then track back from the incoming links, read this post and think..."Uh...yeah...uh...thanks a lot, but...um...")
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So did you know that back in the inaugural season, the KC Wizards were originally the "Kansas City Wiz"? Seriously.
Imagining the conversation:
Man to date: "What're you doing tonight? Wanna take in The Wiz?"
Date: "I'm so glad I put that restraining order number on speed dial!"
(Get it? Wiz/Whiz? Oh, come on, put your brain in twelve-year-old mode and work with me here.)
Regarding the name itself... Well, the logical part of my brain is having a hard time with it, to be honest. I mean, not just Wiz, but "Wizards," too. I know it's a nod to Wizard of Oz, Dorothy being a Kansas girl and all, except that... Well, wasn't the whole point of the Wizard's presence in the movie that he WASN'T in Kansas?
Maybe this made sense when they were playing in Arrowhead Stadium, which is technically in Missouri? But now they're playing at CommunityAmerica in Kansas, so logically is does not work. Except that they'll be moving back to Missouri in 2011, and...um...
My brain is starting to hurt.
But the best part about the name "The Wiz" is not that they had it, but that they had to give it up in a copyright dispute. Apparently the name "The Wiz" is/was the valued asset of an electronics store back east?
"Headin' to The Wiz. You need anything?"
"Yes! Steal all their toilet paper! And I could use one of those single-use cologne things."
(Okay, okay, the twelve-year-old part of my brain is done with Wiz/Whiz jokes now. It is safe for grownups to return to this post.)
Oh, except for one thing: If you're in a certain mindset and find yourself looking for a photo to illustrate a particular blog post, DO NOT google "Taking a Whiz" while you are at work. Trust me on this one. And while we are on this topic, I would like a little self-control credit for using no illustration whatsoever in this post. Because seriously, if I were a different kind of person, you could be looking at a certain US National Team player in a whole new light.
You're welcome.
But...yeah. In closing, I would like to turn your attention to two Wiz ads. (Electronics store, not soccer team. At least one would assume.) One real, the other...perhaps not.
And while we're on the topic, here's a deleted scene from that same Seinfeld episode: