04/19/24
October 15, 2003
Jam.: So that's what the Senators were missing last year! I don't know about this. They were certainly close. It could be worse they could be in the Red Wings predicament. What exactly is being said here?
More inside...
OT: The semantics of jam fascinates me to no end. Jam in itself seems to be the catch-all term some Hockey players, aficionados, scouts, and geeks have chosen to use as of late. Jam in itself is little more than "intestinal fortitude", "the willingness to get things done". It reminds me of a spanish word that is used in the same context:
Ganas.
If you look it up in a Spanish-English Dictionary it will probably be defined as: from the root verb ganar. To earn; to win. Common Usage: ¡Con ganas!
Translation: "With to earn!", "To earn with!", or "To win with!"? Any person of mexican american heritage that speaks the language will tell you that ¡Con ganas! means "With passion!" or "Do it with passion!". Any person of mexican american heritage that speaks the language and doesn't mind cursing will tell you the more literal translation "With Balls!"or the ever American "Go balls out!". It's alot closer to "testicular fortitude" than "intestinal fortitude" but such is Mexican culture.
Jam, testicles, it doesn't matter what you call it, so long as you go all out.
posted by lilnemo at 06:27 PM on October 15, 2003
That goes for the girls too.
posted by lilnemo at 06:29 PM on October 15, 2003
"Jam" comes close to a word that the Finns have always had in their dictionary, "sisu." My Finnish-American mom grew up in the Finn-heavy Upper Peninsula and she taught us kids the meaning of sisu very early on. It means having guts and courage to almost stupid degree. You had to have sisu to grow up in the Copper Country. ha ha See: Esa Tikkanen. Dude embodied the spirit of "sisu."
posted by NoMich at 07:18 PM on October 15, 2003
Right On! Anyone else want to share?
posted by lilnemo at 07:38 PM on October 15, 2003
Jewish moms would be horrified at this, so no word in Yiddish of which I'm aware.
posted by billsaysthis at 07:41 PM on October 15, 2003
posted by Samsonov14 at 12:06 AM on October 16, 2003
Sammy, to me chutzpah is all about talk, not the physicality of jam. Which explains the complete(?) lack of Jewish NHLers.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:47 PM on October 16, 2003
Bill, there are some Jews in the NHL. Mathieu Schneider and Jeff Halpern are probably the two most recognizable names.
posted by Samsonov14 at 01:26 PM on October 16, 2003
....just don't jam your balls in a jamb while you have them out. oh yeah, and F the Wings for those comments. Against the Ducks last year, were they making it happen, creating their own lucky...or were they trying the same things over and over and getting the same results. Cujo didn't win the series, but as the author notes, he didn't lose it either. I'm glad he no longer wears a Leaf jersey, but he doesn't deserve the blame for the offense's failure to solve J-S.G.
posted by garfield at 03:15 PM on October 16, 2003
Whoa! The jam column was a few days old at posting and I had to dig to find it for this post. Today its back on ESPN's NHL fp. Did we revive the column?
The Power of SpoFi compels you!
posted by lilnemo at 05:33 PM on October 16, 2003
Urk, its dated the 15th could of sworn I first read it on the 14th. I'm seeing things. Either way it was buried by noon. Be wary of the power of SpoFi.
posted by lilnemo at 05:34 PM on October 16, 2003
The "jam" article seems to be saying (in a very generalized fashion) that the Senators lost because of "intangibles" associated with the more physical aspects of the game. The Senators seem to concur with the assessment. Although they have the most "skilled" players in the league, they just came up short of a little something last year ( I think this year will be different). As for the Wings, I would feel bad for CuJo, if he wasn't a millionaire. But still, its surprising to hear players turn him into the goat of last season's playoffs. This could simply be them giving their vote of confidence to Hasek. Personally, I think they need more jam.