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The seven dirtiest sports terms we can't believe we still use
The sports lesson you didn't know you needed
Ah yes, the unpredictable world of sports jargon. Sports fans will say or hear the most egregious things in the world without batting an eye because…it’s normal and they know what they’re talking about.
But to the untrained ear, one might be confused on whether fans are talking about sports or last night's party at Pitman Hall. From “the rear naked choke” to “getting a facial,” here is some of the dirtiest-sounding sports jargon and an explanation as to why you should get your non-sporty mind out of the gutter.
Taking it to the hole/rack
Yes…you read that right and yes, you should reconsider taking your soon-to-be stepfather to the Raptors game next week because this phrase is said way too often. Taking it to the hole/rack means dribbling the basketball toward the hoop with the intention of scoring—but not that kind of scoring.
The rear naked choke
If you grew up with older siblings, you’re definitely familiar with this move.
You’d also be familiar with it if you’re just weird and enjoy watching people getting choked from behind and getting their teeth knocked out on a daily basis.
We’re of course talking about mixed martial arts and to perform this move, the attacker's arm encircles the opponent's neck from behind to reach around and grab their own arm, then they squeeze the consciousness out of them. It’s also commonly known as a “chokehold,” but this just sounds more fun.
Going all the way
If you ask any football player, they’ll tell you that this is their goal both on and off the field.
In football, “going all the way” means running the ball from your end of the field to your opponent's end of the field to score a touchdown…Off the field, it means consensual s*x.
Getting a facial
Before you say anything, no, this has nothing to do with skincare.
And before you say anything else, getting a facial has no other meanings…don’t search it in urban dictionary, trust us.
Anyways, getting a facial is another basketball term coined by the legendary announcer, Marv Albert. It means to aggressively dunk over someone, nothing else.
Getting double-teamed
Although this may sound like something fun, getting double-teamed in any sport is a nightmare. Unless of course, you’re the most experienced one, in which case you’ll be just fine.
Getting double-teamed means that two defenders are trying to stop you at the same time. On the bright side, getting double-teamed can also be a huge compliment since it implies that you’re just too good for one person to handle alone.
Going backdoor
This isn’t usually something that’s planned to happen, you usually just see the opening and decide to go for it looking for the easy score *awkward wink*.
In any sport, going backdoor means breaking away from the person defending you to receive a pass near the net. You’d then take a quick shot or make another pass.
Stroke that thing
Although this may seem like something that you should do on your own time, if you’re good at stroking it, your friends, teammates, coaches and even family will openly encourage you to do this at your next recreational league basketball game.
Yelling out ‘stroke that thing!’ is another way of encouraging someone to shoot the ball into the basket.