And the first inductee is . . . our pal George “Butternuts” Duran, one of Rhea’s longtime behind-the-counter warriors. In case you were wondering, he gets his nickname from the basketball court where he is quite the beast and will taunt you by yelling “Butternuts” every time he busts a shot in your eye, reminding everyone that his stroke is smooth as butter. Yes, sometimes basketball sounds dirty.
Another notable catchphrase of his destined to be lost in the annals of folklore is “WAMU!” This is uttered anytime he hits a bankshot off the backboard into the hoop, because even though we’d usually be playing on the weekend, the bank is still open (zing!). Curiously, when WAMU got absorbed by Chase back during the financial crisis, the new name didn’t quite stick, so we just kept kept yelling “WAMU” anytime an inappropriate bankshot found its way into the hoop. Of course, there are now newer, younger players who came through after the bank went under and consequently have no idea what we are talking about.
But that’s how folkore works, right? RIP Alan Dundes.
Did you ever notice that Alan Dundes looked like a turtle?
i played in that game (i once accidentally elbowed you in the mouth, sorry andrew), and i had a different understanding of the origin of butternuts. a less appealing one, having to do with the two possible…regions…of george you’d see as he jumped over you. no?
about wamu, i have no dispute.
now that i think back, you might be right about that. gross!
I always thought it was because of his leaps, not his shot.
george always talked about being a beast on the valencia courts, but i never saw him out there doing anything worth a shit.
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