Top 10 Star Wars Sports Crossovers

January 21, 2009 8:30 AM

Top 10 Star Wars Sports Crossovers. Chewbacca throwing out the first pitch at Fenway is priceless.
posted by jon_hansen (25 comments total)

Is a marching band playing the "Star Wars" theme really a sports crossover? Seems more like the merging of two geeky activities (Star Wars fandom and marching band participation) into one.
posted by The Gooch at 8:36 AM on January 21 [1 favorite]

Aw, who cares? I love both. :-)
posted by grubi at 8:47 AM on January 21

The Colts themed storm-trooper costume is so bad.
posted by smackfu at 8:50 AM on January 21

I thought storm troopers were the bad guys. When did it become cool to dress anonymously in body armor representing the oppressors?
posted by ardgedee at 9:03 AM on January 21 [1 favorite]

I said 'cool'. There. I said it.
posted by ardgedee at 9:03 AM on January 21

"My suggestion to you? Let the wookie Red Sox win."
posted by eriko at 9:03 AM on January 21

Chewbacca throwing out the first pitch at Fenway is priceless.

I think that is just a pic of Randy Johnson when he let his hair grow out.
posted by clearly at 9:05 AM on January 21 [4 favorites]

Cool list, thanks. The fan-created stuff is definitely the best, as anything Lucas approved is entirely too close to putting Spiderman 2 logos on all of the bases.

Disclosure: I am an EXTREMELY old man on this topic. I will NEVER see Spiderman 2, which is a damn shame, because I've heard good things.
posted by SpiffyRob at 9:15 AM on January 21

Back in '78 I used a wiffle ball bat as a light saber. Does that count as a crossover?
posted by orme at 9:20 AM on January 21 [1 favorite]

I thought storm troopers were the bad guys. When did it become cool to dress anonymously in body armor representing the oppressors?

Stormtroopers are bad guys? That's what you get with unreliable narration. The Empire was created as something that succeeded a corrupt, bloated, and wasteful Senate (much like Augustus did for Rome). The Rebels were nothing more than a group loyal to outdated nobility. The Princess was power-hungry, and yearned for "better days" when power came to aristocrats, rather than a meritocracy.

We also see examples where the rebel terrorists blow up the second Death Star, leading to the death of thousands of innocent construction workers, and raining tons of shrapnel onto the forest moon of Endor, leading incontrovertably to the destruction of that moon's entire ecosystem. The wholesale extinction of what must be thousands of species, redeemed only slightly by the fact that one of those species are Ewoks.

If you go back to the prequels, you see elitist Jedi, selecting only those with the genetic predisposition of their choosing to their ranks. Classic racism if ever it's been portrayed on the silver screen.

Oh, and the Empire had style, and people, even cosplayers, like to look good.
posted by explosion at 9:21 AM on January 21 [11 favorites]

I am an EXTREMELY old man on this topic. I will NEVER see Spiderman 2, which is a damn shame, because I've heard good things.

yeah, because if there's one thing that is an unforgivable sin in America, it's the commercialization of baseball.

/snark
posted by deanc at 9:31 AM on January 21

Oh, and the Empire had style, and people, even cosplayers, like to look good.

you know who else had style?

if I had any advice to dispense to the Taliban, it's that they need to get some Wagner playing in their caves. Shaving your beard might be haram but styling supervillians know better than to look like kooky old hippies.

Just to make this topical -- it's worth pointing out that most of these cases are examples of fundraising activities organized by local garrisons of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion. I know a couple of "legionnaires" who were involved in the Chewbacca @ Fenway moment, and what's not included in the photo is that there was a Han Solo and C3PO on the mound as well.
posted by bl1nk at 9:38 AM on January 21

That was a black day for Formula 1. Particularly when Coulthard wore a Superman cape on the podium.

Disclosure: I am an EXTREMELY old man on this topic. I will NEVER see Spiderman 2, which is a damn shame, because I've heard good things.

I saw it and wish I hadn't.
posted by juiceCake at 9:52 AM on January 21

"Chewbacca throwing out the first pitch at Fenway is priceless."

It would be so much better with video.
posted by oddman at 9:58 AM on January 21

I live in a southern state, and yesterday we uncharacteristically had some snow. I drove twenty or so miles to a neighboring county through the snow for court. The judge there is a very friendly sort who likes to greet the attorneys loudly as they show up. This judge also knows that I am originally from a part of the country where it snows a lot.

So I walked into the courtroom with some melting snow on my jacket. He greeted me in his usual gregarious manner. "Good morning, Mr. Flarbuse! Did you enjoy your snowy drive here?"

"It wasn't a problem," I assured him. "it was just like Beggar's Canyon back home." My internal laughter was the only laughter in the courtroom.
posted by flarbuse at 10:01 AM on January 21 [1 favorite]

Hm. I would've expected those Sith jerseys to have the number 66 on them.
posted by phatkitten at 10:03 AM on January 21

I thought storm troopers were the bad guys. When did it become cool to dress anonymously in body armor representing the oppressors?

The storm troopers are just soldiers, doing their job. Maybe they served a government that for a while did some bad things, but it did some good things too. Of course normal foot soldiers aren't as cool as certain military contractors.
posted by MrBobaFett at 11:09 AM on January 21 [1 favorite]

TROOPS
posted by dragonsi55 at 11:23 AM on January 21 [1 favorite]

I'm more concerned about what the jersey picture of the Stormtrooper says about the pitcher's aim.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:19 PM on January 21

you know who else had style?

Nixon?
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:39 PM on January 21

yeah, because if there's one thing that is an unforgivable sin in America, it's the commercialization of baseball.

/snark

The whole point was that while baseball fans tolerate 1,001 different types of commercial whoring throughout baseball, (and I should know, I'm a Boston fan, join the nation for only $15!) stay the fuck off of the field, the bases, and the uniforms. Baseball may have lost to the fat cats some time ago, but NASCAR it is not. Selig may not know how to make the right decisions in the heat of the moment, but the guy can flip-flop with the best of them.
posted by SpiffyRob at 2:39 PM on January 21

The marching band I am in, a very large military ROTC band, used to play the Imperial March during halftime shows in the 90s. I think they decided it was too undignified though, so now it's all Patton's theme music, and Sousa, and so forth.
posted by internet!Hannah at 4:55 PM on January 21

It was worth it for the Man in the Box episode.
posted by dhartung at 5:39 PM on January 21 [1 favorite]

I showed my mom the sport nerd and star wars nerd video. She got a kick out of that. (Although I didn't notice the guy flipping the bird at the end until I watched it with her).

And I think that because marching bands are a staple at football games the sports crossover is fine there. That and stomping around in formation while playing an instrument takes more athletic talent than I have.

Altogether a fun post. The sith baseball jersey is going on next years christmas list.
posted by silkygreenbelly at 2:52 PM on January 22

"Chewbacca throwing out the first pitch at Fenway is priceless."

It would be so much better with video.

No, it wouldn't.
posted by ericbop at 5:25 PM on January 22