Gloss and Primer :: The Mid-Majority

This site is now over six years old, with over 1,300 posts. Just as with Lost or the Jim Rome Show, it's difficult for new folks get on board. There's no dude intoning "Previously on The Mid-Majority" before every post. That's why we've put together this page, so that you can get up to speed on all the in-jokes.

7 Basic Facts You Should Know About The Mid-Majority

"Mid-major" has nothing to do with winning and losing. Sic transit gloria; this is about money. TMM covers teams in conferences with average athletic budgets under $20 million (a/k/a the Red Line).
We are fully funded by you, the viewers.
Each season begins on November 1 with a week of essays ("Essay Season"), and ends when the last team below the Red Line has been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.
At the end of every season comes Kyle's epilogue. These are often very long.
This site has been alive and active since November 1, 2004, but is quiet every summer.
Kyle goes to a lot of college basketball games.
Bally is a talking cartoon basketball who also travels all around the country in physical form with Kyle.

Good Places to Get Started

Here are some entries that have been particularly popular with readers over the years: The Taylor Coppenrath Experience; 22 Teams That Can Beat The Hartford Hawks; Here's Where The Story Ends; The Worst Pizza Ever Made; The Beautiful Season; Me, The Internet and UC Irvine; Free Wolfie; The National Anthem; The Boubacar 2/6/2008 (Student Spirit Edition); The Mid-Majority Interview: Dolph Pulliam; Why You Shouldn't Enter Your Office Pool; Thank You; The Sports Bubble; Mock Selection 2009.

The Glossary

1

100 Game Project, The - Quest to attend 100 college basketball games during the 2004-05 season. Completed successfully.

A

All Caps Game - ANNUAL TRADITION BEGUN IN SEASON 6. ALL TWEETS REGARDING THE #ALLCAPSGAME MUST BE TYPED IN ALL CAPS. THE 2010 ALL CAPS GAME FEATURED LOYOLA (ILL.) AND UIC OF THE HORIZON LEAGUE AND THE 2011 ONE IS UIC AGAINST BUTLER. THE ACG IS VERY IMPORTANT.

America's Most Boring Interstate - The long stretch of Interstate 70 from Salina, KS to Denver, CO, winner of our February 2009 contest. Nominee of reader Trae.

American-Style Football - Bizarre combination of fake violence and boardroom procedurals; worst sport ever invented.

Arnone, Jasper Joe - Public address announcer for Central Connecticut State, and the finest at his job in all of Hoops Nation. Interview subject during Season 4. The Best.

ARRRGH - Expression of pain and anguish, often heard in March when a team below the Red Line comes close to a landmark upset but falls just short at the end. Always spelled with three R's.

Atlantic 14 - Red Line-straddling league full of overachieving programs and proud fans. Includes 40 percent more teams than officially advertised. Formerly known as the Atlantic 12 and Atlantic 10.

Atlantic One - Heavy metal rock song in tribute to Atlantic 14 tourney champion. Current Atlantic One is Temple University.

Lyrics:
You are the Atlantic One, number two to none
You are the champion
You are the Atlantic One, your foes undone
You are the destroyer
Thirteen victims, they lay at your feet
A pile of bleached bones, 'cause you ate their meat
The taste of their blood was so fucking sweet
You are the Atlantic One!
You are the Atlantic One!

B

Badlands Conference - League formerly known as the Mid-Continent Conference, rebranded "Summit League" after consultations with PR firms. Our name is cooler. Logo designed by reader Nate.

Bally - A talking basketball, official mascot of the site. Legend has it that he was discovered underneath the bench at a St. Francis (NY)-St. Francis (PA) game.

Basketball State - Subscription college basketball website full of stats and information constructed by Kyle, in his garage.

Bison Fever - Powerful feeling of excitement surrounding the 2008-09 North Dakota State Bison, winners of Badlands Conference title in their first year of NCAA eligibility. Often used as reference point for other, similar campaigns (i.e. "we are excited about the team, but it's not quite Bison Fever yet.")

Bizarro Valley - 2008-09 conference regular season in the one-bid Missouri Valley Conference. Two-month race that defied logic, explanation and punditification. Culminated in "Bizarch Madness" conference tourney in St. Louis, won by Northern Iowa.

BLAPP - A combination of lager, fruit juice and grain alcohol. Means "liquid death" in several Finnish dialects, and comes with hundreds of disclaimers. Sponsor of "Tempo-Free Halftime" in TMM's game Twittercasts.

Boubacar, The - Name of weekday roundup posts during Season 4. Derived from erstwhile Morgan State standout forward Boubacar Coly. Also a joyous exclamation after a fine play in the sport of basketball.

Brain Explosion Series - Annual slate of nonconference games between teams the Ivy and Patriot Leagues. Won 10-9 by Ivy League in 2008-09, and by Patriot League 13-8 in 2009-10.

C

Championship Fortnight - Thirteen days in March (occasionally beginning in late February) during which conference tourneys are contested. Typically begins on Tuesday with the Big South and Horizon League opening rounds. Continues through the subsequent weekend, when ESPN begins broadcasting finals. Concludes on Selection Sunday with the Southland final. Best two weeks of the year.

Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Airport - Hotel in Indianapolis that serves as the official headquarters of The Mid-Majority.

D

Done Ruthless - Nickname given to former Tennessee-Martin star Lester Hudson by Mid-Majority readers in February 2009. Nominated by reader Chris as an anagram of Mr. Hudson's name, accompanied by lovely poem, affixed by popular vote.

E

Epilogue, The - Annual essay series, each posted at the end of the small-college basketball season, defined as when the last sub-Red Line team is eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.

F

Flash - Commissioned video of Stephen Curry highlights to Queen's 1980 hit "Flash". Video by Tim Burke. Inspired by a entry by Alan Hyder in a December 2008 superhero mashup contest.

Football Independence Day - Monday after Super Bowl. Also see Football Independence Day (Observed), the day after the national championship of collegiate American-style football.

Footbally - Official anti-mascot of the site, a talking football. Only speaks in point spreads.

Form™, The - The Mid-Majority's magic feedback contraption, which accepts readers' typed messages and delivers them to Kyle and Bally. Patent pending. Located here.

G

Gay Chubby Dating - Dating service for large homosexual men, and the last random Google Ad ever shown on this site. Used to symbolize a moment of Robotic humilation (i.e. "My Gay Chubby Dating moment came when Amazon recommended I read Eat Pray Love because I liked One Beautiful Season.").

Guaco - The ultimate in mid-major Mexican food. Taco shell filled with only condiments: guacamole, hot sauce, salsa and sour cream. No meat. A collaborative invention.

H

Hodge, Julius - Former N.C. State star. Not a mid-major player, but this site's first cartoon superstar after a bad shooting night during Season 1.

Hoops Nation - Country-within-a-country, located in the United States of America. Collective of hundreds of college basketball programs and fan communities outside the seven top conferences. United in shared struggle for respect and common lack of appropriate finances to properly compete with Duke and Kansas on a fair basis. Capital located in Dayton, Ohio (2006-2009); Indianapolis (2009-present).

horchata - Delicious mixture of cinnamon, milk and rice. Spirit-nourishing blend, official drink of The Mid-Majority. Its intoxicating flavour haunts the soul. Difference between real Mexican restaurants and impostors.

Horchata Song, The - Song in tribute to The Mid-Majority's official beverage. Written and performed while driving through California in February 2009.

Lyrics:
Your hair is so red, like the cinnamon in horchata
Your skin is so pale, like the milk that is in horchata
Your legs are so nice, like long stems of rice,
An ingredient in my favorite drink.
My love for you, second only to... horchata.

Spanish lyrics:
Tu pelo es tan rojo como la canela... horchata
Tu piel es tan blanca como la leche... horchata
Tus piernas son buenas como tallos de arroz,
Un ingrediente en mi bebida favorita.
Mi amor por ti, segundo lugar solamente... a la horchata.

How 'Bout™ - Daily feature of "The Boubacar" daily post during Season 4, a series of "quick hits" about various mid-major teams. Typical entry: "How 'Bout™ those Golden Badlands badasses of Oral Roberts, who play for a school where you can't say the word 'badass?'"

J

J.J. Jumper - Terrifying frog/freak mascot designed by NCAA to represent the spirit of college basketball. Instead, a mortal insult to endeavor.

K

K-Dub - Kyle's "street rap" nickname during his four years of writing and chatting at ESPN.com.

K-Dub's Krazy Fact of the Day - Regular feature of Kyle's ESPN Insider blog during the 2005-06 season, which moved to The Mid-Majority in Season 4. Consisted of a series of useless, trivial, meaningless items from the Basketball State database. Replaced by the U'useless Stat of the Day in Season 5.

Killswitch - Kyle's secret heavy metal nickname. You only get to use it if you're cool. \m/

L

Last Man in America to Know Who Won the Super Bowl, The - Object is to go as long as possible without learning the winner or score of the American-style Football championship game. Current record: Thursday night. Occasionally shortened to "Last Man," or Twitter hashtag #lastman.

M

Mid-Majority Baller of the Week (MMBOW) - Weekly player award given during the regular season. Dates back to Season 1. One of the oldest Mid-Majority traditions. Winners are generally chosen for their ability to put in two or more great performances during the previous week.

Monsterizer - Nickname for current Butler forward Matt Howard. Occasionally resembles both Igor and Frankenstein when he takes it to the hoop.

N

National Anthem, The - "Rock and Roll, Part 2" by Gary Glitter.

National Pixelvision Day - February 3. A day to watch 360p video feeds of mid-major college basketball with your friends, and for posting 140-character responses using Twitter hashtag #pixelvision. A wild success in its inaugural year. Tom Petty performed live at the 2010 NPD halftime show.

O

Other 25 (24), The - Division I conferences below the Red Line, the ones we cover. Was 24 in Season 6. Because of the bad economy, Conference USA dipped below the Red Line in 2009 to make it 25.

P

Petty, Tom - Unofficial poet laureate of Hoops Nation. Singer of songs about struggle and yearning and losing, about overcoming obstacles and odds. Recurring subject during 2009 BracketBusters marathon chat. Object of tribute contest in February 2009 and career retrospective in March 2010.

pixelvision - 480x360 pixel video stream of a small-conference college basketball game.

Play-In Game - Correct title for the 64/65 NCAA Tournament game played in Dayton, Ohio. Also known as the Notorious P.I.G. and the Most Honest Game in College Basketball. Retired in 2010 when bracket expanded to 68, to become "First Four" (or Quad-PIG).

R

Red Line Upset - Occurs when a team in a conference below the Red Line beats a team in a league above it. In 2009-10, teams below the Red Line beat teams above only 17 percent of the time. For 2010-11, results involving Xavier, Gonzaga and Memphis are "excepted."

Red Line, The - A financial line that separates the richest seven conferences and "The Other 25." ACC, SEC, Pac-10, Big Ten, Big East, Big 12 and Mountain West schools average over $20 million in overall athletic budget and spend an average $2 million on men's basketball. Several leagues ("straddlers") meet one of these criteria.

S

Season 1 - The 2004-05 college basketball season. Notable for the 100 Games Project and exciting first-round NCAA Tournament wins by Bucknell and Vermont.

Season 2 - The 2005-06 college basketball season. Notable for George Mason's run to the Final Four.

Season 3 - The 2006-07 college basketball season. Notable for Sweet 16 runs by Southern Illinois and Butler.

Season 4 - The 2007-08 college basketball season. The site's most successful and consistent campaign to date. Notable for Davidson's Elite Eight appearance.

Season 5 - The 2008-09 college basketball season. Memorialized in Sports Bubble Blues. Cleveland State, Siena, Dayton and Western Kentucky won NCAA first-round games, and Xavier made the Elite Eight.

Season 6 - The 2009-10 college basketball season. Notable for Butler's run to the National Championship Game, and Sweet Sixteen appearances by Northern Iowa, Cornell, Xavier and Saint Mary's.

Sports Bubble Stadium - Nickname for Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the site of the 2010 Final Four and site of Butler's title game loss. Offers 70,000 seats and an extreme acreage-to-usefulness deficit.

Sports Bubble, The - 21st Century phenomenon involving imbalance of assets and values in the sports industry. Title of the essay that got Kyle fired at ESPN.com.

superhoop - A three-point field goal.

T

Title G - Possible future NCAA regulation that would require each Division I school to have at least one cheerleader or dance team member with glasses, because that's a.) awesome b.) cute and c.) logistically challenging. Still in committee.

Title R - Little-known NCAA regulation that each Division I school must have at least one cheerleader or dance team member with red hair. Very selectively enforced, as governing body is wasting resources on prosecuting telephone-related recruiting violations. Punishable by relegation to Division IV, because redheads "R" awesome.

Top Five Tuesday - Former feature of Kyle's ESPN Insider blog during 2005-06. Moved to TMM for Season 3. Consisted of five easy pieces, loosely joined.

Tourney Central - Fourteen-day series during Championship Fortnight containing game recaps, previews, updated brackets and links to boxscores for conference tourneys below the Red Line. See: 2008, 2009, 2010.

Travelogue, The - Eighteen-part travel-themed series from Season 4. Two lost chapters.

U

U'useless Stat of the Day - Version 2.0 of K-Dub's Krazy Fact. Named for Drake U'u, former Hartford Hawks player. Originally the "U'useful Stat of the Day" as a tribute to Drake's small but important contributions to the team, but everyone finally realized that the stats were useless. U'u now plays for Cal Poly.

Ultra-Violence Mechanism (UVM) - Nickname for the 2004-05 University of Vermont Catamounts team that beat Syracuse in the NCAA's first round. Metaphorical heavy metal band led by Taylor Coppenrath, known for hits "Pain Factory," "Midnight At The Vomit Arcade," and "Catatonic Entombment."

UMPFN - Former acronym for "Unnamed Major Program From The Northwest," or Gonzaga. Used starting in Season 1 and through Season 3. People still use it, though, in attempts to sound "hip" and "with the whole TMM thing". Please stop.

Upset Club - Site feature from Seasons 4 and 5. Readers could sign up to receive notification of Red Line Upsets by e-mail or text. Rendered obsolete by teh Twitter and the @RedLineUpsets account.

Urge, The - Powerful motivation and compulsion by coaches and administrators to compromise integrity to make the NCAA Tournament.

W

Waffle House - Chain restaurant with locations in the southern and midwestern parts of Hoops Nation. Kyle gets his "smothered, covered, diced and peppered" and always plugs the jukebox with 10 or more consecutive plays of "There Are Raisins In My Toast" before leaving.

Whelliston, Ace - Kyle's 1940's sportswriter alter ego, who covered Ivy League games in 2005. Possibly senile and/or dangerous.

Wolfie Seawolf - Stony Brook mascot responsible for applying clothesline tackle on NCAA mascot J.J. Jumper during 2005 America East quarterfinals. Hero and champion.

Worst Pizza Ever Made, The - Crust like sawdust, cheese like candle wax. Legendary pizza served at the University of Delaware's press room on Dec. 30, 2005 and one of the most popular entries in site history.