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http//www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20020214/1012194.asp http://www.escribe.com/culture/native_news/m25544.html A team name that defines killer instinct By ROD WATSON 2/14/2002 I'm starting a team. I don't know in which league yet. Or even which sport. But I already have a name the White Boys. Granted, like most of you, I was initially outraged when Iroquois Central Schools officials revealed last week that they were keeping the "Chiefs" name for the district's athletic teams - despite a call from the state education commissioner to drop such monikers. But the student demonstration there Wednesday made me realize we've become much too squeamish about such issues. While Iroquois officials were unveiling their new policy, a Cheektowaga schools task force was holding its first meeting to figure out how to approach the same matter. Other districts are doing similar soul-searching. And for what? The problem isn't that we salute Native American tribes. The real problem is that we've been too selective in whom we hold up for such adulation. Rather than forcing teams to drop such names as "Warriors," "Chiefs" and "Redskins," we need to expand the list. In the interest of fairness, diversity and historical accuracy, we need to honor the one demographic group that has done more than any other to make this country what it is today, but which never gets its due. Hence my new team, whose name represents all the admirable qualities we want sports to instill. We want our athletes to be warriors? Well, who were more warlike than the white guys who took an extended road trip in wooden boats and wiped out practically every vestige of a native population that had its own culture, mores and institutions? We want our teams to have a killer instinct? Well, you can't have a better role model than TWB, which enslaved a whole race of people and got them to do the fieldwork that enabled a fledgling nation to miraculously leapfrog established countries that weren't nearly so ruthless. The result was an economy drenched in blood that would turn out to be the envy of the world. You like trick plays and ingenious offensive schemes? Try a tax system tilted toward the wealthy while an entertainment industry diverts the attention of the have-nots with a misdirection play that makes Home Run Throwback look sandlot. In fact, any way you look at it, the controversy over Native American names only serves to make one thing clear We've been honoring the wrong people all these years. If Native Americans had a little more "white boy" in them, they wouldn't be living on reservations and struggling to turn bingo into a survival sport. If women had a little more "white boy" in them, they wouldn't still be making 72 cents on the dollar and bumping glass ceilings while all of the occupations in which they predominate get devalued. There's a lot to be said for the calculating, uncompromising relentlessness of a demographic group that can accomplish all of that. It deserves to have a team named after it. Of course, you have to make some concessions to the times - just as Iroquois school officials did. While keeping the honorific, they decided to abandon the logo and mascot. I can respect that. Because mascots are no longer politically correct, I'm similarly reconsidering plans to have a Michael Milken-Kenneth Lay look-alike. I was going to have my mascot parade through the stands in suit and tie flashing replica junk bonds and stock options while trying to lift the fans' wallets. But I wouldn't want to stereotype anybody. So instead of a mascot and logo, I'll just stick with the name and a fight song Two, four, six, eight, who can we an-ni-hi-late? Come on, crowd, let's make some noise! G-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o White Boys! Now, I realize that some people may take all of this the wrong way. They'll think that naming a team the White Boys is insulting or racist. They won't appreciate what an honor it is to have the characteristics of a certain group held up for emulation and respect. I fully realize there may be a backlash. But what are you going to do? I mean, let's face it Some people are just too darn sensitive. e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED] ======== An American Classic =========================== There's a good reason why Reader's Digest has long been one of America's favorite magazines. 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