The ‘Mavericks’ Might Hurt the Actual Mavericks

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↵It’s been a rough summer for Dallas’ professional basketball club, if nothing else because of Josh Howard’s various meltdowns. But it’s high time we think about just how much damage the McCain/Palin campaign has done to the word “maverick,” and thus, the brand of the team.
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↵I’m not neccessarily saying that said Republican ticket sucks and brings negative associations to Cuban’s club. More that, as the Republican ticket repeats this word ad infinitum, it loses all meaning. Not that NBA teams are necessarily identified with their funny animal or mascot-enabling names, but “maverick” has swung the opposite direction. Far from offering a hint of Texan bravura, it’s now a media-logged cliche that evokes little more than cynical posturing.↵
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This doesn’t mean I think that the Wizards have problems because of the KKK or 1980’s Dungeons and Dragons teen murder cults. More along the lines of my newfound non-interest in Woody Allen’s With Feathers. “Ruffling feathers” has lost all meaning to me, made me totally sick of feathers, and turned any mention of them into noise, nuisance.
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↵And so it’s become with “maverick.” I’ve got to admit, though, it might be different if there were the slightest bit of credibility attached their usage -- if they weren’t a non-stop rhetorical crutch. Like, I’m not about to turn my back on any of my favorite renditions of “A Change Is Gonna Come,” includng Sam Cooke’s original, Otis Redding’s dynamite homage, and Baby Huey’s psychedelic catharsis.↵
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↵Come next season, I suspect the Mavs will hear their fair share of McCain jokes. Except for Josh Howard, the original maverick, who went against party lines, dissed The Maverick, and endorsed that other dude. Sort of. Which is why, no matter who wins, there’s a good chance he’ll be traded. Otherwise, it’ll cost thousands of man-hours for the marketing department to sort out.↵