News-Letter

"Dear Mary, I believe this is a simple matter of equestrian tendencies for the male gender. Every man desires to be a cowboy; look at Chuck Norris in Walker Texas Ranger. The man epitomizes machismo. So, ultimately if Mr. Norris needs to travel quickly, how can he motivate his horse to move faster? He slaps its ass. Likewise with sports, men need to commune and help motivate one another as a team. It's standard practice and common courtesy to slap another man's ass if you feel he is slacking. Not only is that fact, that's science.

"Cordially, Jim Pearse."

Could it be put more clearly? Pearse even gave us a historical perspective of this fanny phenomenon. Myers, however, holds a more evolutionary view of the smack, hypothesizing that the smack "came around from the punishment of being spanked. This punishment was turned into a sexual act - don't ask me why ­- and then later turned into a slightly homoerotic way of guys keeping each other on their toes. Eventually, it turned into what it is today."

And though the Hopkins men's athletes appreciate the tushy token as it is today, Myers is quick to point out that there's one thing the male butt smack can't compare to. "Although the slapping of another man's backside is a great thing, the slapping of a woman's behind is on a whole new plane of awesomeness."

Though it may never reach this plane of awesomeness, the men still have high hopes for the future of this derriere delight. Walsh predicts that one day the gesture will be incorporated outside of the athletic community. "I just wish that I could bring this habit off the baseball field into my 'other' life. Got an A on a test? I believe a little butt slap is quite appropriate."

< prev Page 2 of 2

Article Tools