Who won the Delhomme?
Our first wacky challenge of this Super Bowl season – to use the last name of Panthers’ quarterback Jake Delhomme in a sentence -- drew some wacky answers. It’s great to live in an area with such er, creative fans.
We really liked the attempts to capitalize on Jake’s exotic last name (“de l’homme” means “of the man” in French). Mark of Salem submitted this gem:
“To Senor Fox: Del homme is surrounded by de fense (Homeland Defense, that is!).”
Lots of you took the PC tack: I need a new computer so I went to the store and brought a Delhomme, etc. etc. Cute. A good variation on that were the few who wrote, “Dude, I’m getting a Delhomme!”
Some used it as a mild cuss: My father told me to get the Del-homme. The Pats are going to send the Panthers the Del-homme.
Others used the QB’s name for what it is: The QB’s name. Caleb of Cambridge put it oh so subtlety: "Jake Delhomme is quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, and at the Super Bowl he's gonna wish he was Del-done with playing football because Teddy Brewski is gonna pound him! Go Pats!!!” Caleb, stop holding back!
Several of you tapped into pop culture: Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat song was popular: (“Day-o...Day-ay-ay-ay-o…Daylight come and we want to Delhomme.”) There was Delhommer Simpson, Delhomme Ranger, Delhomme and winding road, and from Justin of Newton, “You fought Delhomme and the Law won.”
Some of the non-football uses made us laugh out loud: At Chinese restaurants, Michael of Brookline gets De-lhomme-ain. Jason of Sharon would ask Mrs. Castro, “Is FiDel Homme?” Gregg of Manchester, NH mused on the nature lover who lived in a wooded hollow and was always able to call a delhomme. bigshow of Brighton simply hungered for a small delhommey sandwich with mayo and hots. Don’t we all?
Lots of you heard “the loam” (or rather, de loam) when you said poor Jake’s last name, as in “Before the grounds crew plants de seed at Gillette Stadium, they have to install De Lhomme and put on plenty of de water and de Miracle Gro.” (Mike of Bedford)
But the music to our ears were the entries that evoked the coveted Lombardi Trophy. And the best of the lot – and the winner of the cheesy prize for today, is JG of Melrose for “De best football team in de NFL will win De-lhomme-bardi trophy.”
And JG, we know you meant the Pats, right?
