Cowboy up? I think not.
Posted on:: October 9th, 2003
I don’t know what “Cowboy up” means, but it seems to be an atavistic, totemic cry intended to encourage a local sports team.
While I wish the team luck in their endeavors, I have to register my objection to the phrase. We are in Boston. We are not cowboys. We are not lumberjacks. We are not even jolly ranchers. A more appropriate cris de guerre might be “Study hard!,” “Out-think them, fellows!” or “A sporting chance to us all!”
Let us try to remember that this is Boston, after all.
They’re the Boston Red Sox, not the Cambridge Red Sox.
In Indiana, we’re asked to “Boiler Up!” to support the Purdue Boilermakers. I still don’t know how to do it!
Perhaps you’d find this more to your liking (with apologies to Tom Lehrer)
First Verse
Fight fiercely, Red Sox!
Fight, fight, fight!
Demonstrate to them our skill.
Albeit they possess the might,
Nonetheless we have the will.
How we shall celebrate our victory?
We shall invite the whole team
Up for tea! How jolly!
Hurl that spheroid toward the plate
And fight! Fight! Fight!
Second Verse
Fight fiercely, Red Sox!
Fight, fight, fight!
Impress them with our prowess, do.
Oh, fellows, do not let the Crimson down;,
Be of stout heart, and true.
Fight for Boston’s glorious name!
Won’t it be peachy if we
Win the game? Oh goody!
Let’s try not to injure them,
But fight! Fight! Fight!
I so selfishly wish TL hadn’t gone on lyrical sabbatical for the past 30 years. What a genius.
Or perchance you could “Pahk-dah-cah-in-Hahvahd-yahd up!” HAHAHAHA! Sigh, ’tis a shame that recycling humor does not help the environment. Nonetheless, go Red Sox.
Chowda up!
David – Not sure if you knew, but it’s taken from “Tears of the Sun” (the Bruce Willis flick from last year). Apparently there’s a scene when he rallies his troops to “cowboy up” and get the mission done. (Haven’t seen it, but saw one of the players on the Sox interviewed about it.) The players liked it, said it represented what they needed to do. Of course, now Kerry has appropriated it for his own use. Reminds me of another slogan from a few years ago: “Where’s the beef?”
I believe it is an invitation to go boot scootin’. “Cowboy up” was a popular phrase expressed on the back of pickup trucks parked out behind the cowboy discotheques that were all the rage back in the 90s…
Rick, good observation but incorrect I’m afraid. Lane Frost, a world champion bull rider, originally coined the phrase “Cowboy up.” It simply means, “Bear down and get tough.” Frost said this as he prepared to ride up until his tragic death in a rodeo in 1989 during the Cheyenne Frontier Days. His slogan was commercialized as a retro-western style clothing company to uphold his legacy.
Finally, the phrase “Where’s the beef?” was coined by Clara Peller 1984, over nine years ago, for a Wendy’s commercial. Just slightly longer then a few years back.
Casino, you really have to get your mind out of the gutter.
Weinberger,
I do not disagree with your opinions, however, I disagree with the way you posted them. EASY WITH THE VOCABULARY. I know it’s hard for an intellect like you to imagine, but one can have a meaningful discussion without having to use such ridiculous terms.
Honestly, park the language lesson for a minute, put down the thesaurus and say what’s on your mind. One tip: If it’s taking you more than two minutes to think up each sentence, it’s too much, buddy.
But hey, other than that, I agree ;)
Kevin, it was more or less a joke. Feel free to laugh now.
“Where’s the beef?” was not coined by Clara Peller in 1984. It was coined by some copy writer at an advertising agency. Clara Peller was an actor.
“Where’s the beef?” was not coined by Clara Peller in 1984. It was coined by some copy writer at an advertising agency. Clara Peller was an actor.
Why are you using words that I have to look up in the dictionary? Thats absurd! I agree they are the Boston Red Sox they are not the Cambridge Red Sox. They are not pretty boys like the Yankees…they are “Street Toughs”, according to Regis Philbin! Obviously you read books and don’t follow sports…”Cowboy Up” its all about getting the team together to pull through, step up to the plate and SPANK THE YANK!!! GO SOX! =) COWBOY UP PEDRO!
Kevin and “shell”, you must be joking. Do you understand that you’re actually telling someone that the way they speak is wrong, unnecessary, or incorrect? How can you even judge something as truly subjective in nature as personal expression? They’re practically synonymous. Moreover, no one made you come to this site, nor should their be any regard for those who seem confounded over these “big” words, as you like to call them. The simple fact is you’re asking an individual to express themselves differently because your doltish mind has to look up every fifth word because all you read is Sports Illustrated. Yes, you can have a conversation without “big” words, as I’m sure the majority of your conversations do, but simply because you understand baseball and little over a high school reading level does it not make his original statement any less credible.
Secondly, shell, you said “Obviously you read books and don’t follow sports.” What a terribly unsupported statement. So impetuous yet so naive. I need not distinctly recall stating that “it simply means, ‘Bear down and get tough.'” as I wrote that only a mere seven posts prior to your puerile comment. You should try, at the very least, to read the VAST number of arduously long replies before you open your ignorant mouth.
I’m sorry but this is irritably ridiculous! It’s borderline criminal to suggest that this man’s form of personal expression is INCORRECT! It utterly sickens me.
Yes, the word “their” in my previous post is misspelt. Hardy har har. For those of you as ignorant as to make that the focus of your rebuttal, please refrain from ever having a serious debate. Yes, what irony, but nevertheless, let it not overshadow the purpose of my prior post.
FOR GOD SAKES PEOPLE. ARE YOU ALL REALLY THIS DENSE. COWBOY UP IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE BROKEN DOWN AND ANALYZED INTO LOGICAL LITTLE BOXES. ITS A WAY OF LIFE.
Cowboy Up and be a man. If you need to ask, you wouldn’t understand. It’s in yer attitude and the way you live. It’s in the blood, sweat, and tears you give. It’s the way you think, the way you talk, the way you act, the way you walk. It’s a motto for those who can see it through, in the way they play and the work they do. There’s a quality you see in a man who can Cowboy Up and take a stand. It’s morals and values down deep in yer gut. To never back down, to never let up. And ladies, don’t think yer exempt, you Cowgirl Up and the same rules are kept. Cause Cowboys and Cowgirls are of the same breed. So it’s only fair that both live by the creed.
You all need to know that Cowboy up was started for the rodio people or real cowboys. When some on got hurt we would say cowboy up and it was a insperational thing. Kinda like get back out there and get don.
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