Question

by billb on Mar 28, 2007 10:18 AM CDT

I was over t ESPN and saw a picture of one of the UCLA players (Mata, I think) with two fingers in a "V" pointed down. Is this a slap at USC? is this "Victory Down" or is it some sort og sign I am unfamiliar with (Gang or otherwise).

If it is the victory down sign does it Make UCLA the a&m of the PAC 10?

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Comments

I think so...

Yeah, I had the exact same thought when I saw that picture. I figured that's what it had to be. The problem is that it doesn't make any sense, at least not in basketball.

This would be like UT players doing a "thumbs-down" in football when they were playing someone other than aggie. We're already better than they are; they're the pathetic ones who do "horns down." If Colt gave a "thumbs-down" after a big win over a non-aggie opponent, it would just validate them for no reason. Similarly, USC is not a basketball power; UCLA is. UCLA has no reason to feel inferior to So. Cal in hoops, so why do something like that? It only shows SC that you're thinking about them when the message should be that they're totally irrelevant.

by wao23 on Mar 28, 2007 10:31 AM CDT reply actions

One way or the other

Mata is one ugly dude. I mean, maybe I'm not a good judge of what makes a guy look good or not, but he looks like [insert every "ugly stick" joke, etc. here]. Frightening.

So take that.

by Kahuna on Mar 28, 2007 10:39 AM CDT reply actions

I saw it as well...

Whatever.

Here is another picture for your collection

Conquest Chronicles

by Paragon SC on Mar 28, 2007 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions

He looks like the 19th hijacker

I guess he missed his flight that fateful Sept. morning. He definitely looks like he could be shooting an AK-47 instead of a basketball.

Horns up, Okies Down.

by kicker @ Burnt Orange Nation on Mar 28, 2007 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions

that whole "V" thing always confused me

i thought USC fans were giving me the peace sign for the first ten minutes of tailgating at the Nat. Championship game. I honestly think that no sports hand sign exists that can compare or is more recognizable than the "Hook 'em." At least the ones i'm familiar with.

by greenman on Mar 28, 2007 11:08 AM CDT reply actions

At least they have their own sign.

In Europe most would understand the V for victory, although I think they might associate it more with the Greek Trojans, but they would think the Hook 'em was the sign of the devil.

by Wells on Mar 28, 2007 4:05 PM CDT up reply actions

Not that old

I can't believe that I'm about to type this, but here we go...

The V for victory would be more associated with Churchill in WWII. His version though, when discussing the Nazis, was much more likely to look like the British "flicking the V" or the two fingered salute showing the back of the hand, which is loosely an "up yours" gesture. It originated at the Battle of Agincourt - the French were prone to cutting off the index and middle fingers of longbowmen to prevent them from fighting again, so the longbowmen took to flicking the V as a gesture of defiance and victory... Which doesn't really have much of anything to do with SC, but there you go.

by DC Trojan on Mar 28, 2007 8:52 PM CDT up reply actions

true

and that's also where the curse "fuck you" came from (I saw some thing on HBO last year where Robert Wuhl taught some history class in college for a day. This was one of the lessons).

I can't really remember everything, but a bunch of longbowmen were captured by the French, and were released after the battle. On their way out, they raised their middle finger against the French (to show they still had it) and said something along the lines of "I can still pluck you!!" referring to plucking/shooting an arrow from the bow. Somewhere through time and language it became "fuck you," with a middle finger raised.

I don't know how factual it is, but it makes some sense when combined with the knowledge Trojan in DC has provided.

...til Gabriel blows his horn

by BigTexBD on Mar 29, 2007 12:01 AM CDT up reply actions

Yea

that is what happens when I just talk out of my ass, sometimes I am wrong, but a least it sounds good.

Wikipedia if you want more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign

by Wells on Mar 29, 2007 12:32 PM CDT up reply actions

Not a sign of the devil...

...It means your wife is a whore on that side of the planet.

by Hornbud on Mar 31, 2007 8:31 AM CDT up reply actions

Depends

The Norwegians think it is a sign of the devil. Mediterraneans use it as a cuckold, but don't they usually put it behind someone's head?

by Wells on Apr 2, 2007 9:38 AM CDT up reply actions

Personally

I always liked to think the V was actual the bunny rabbit ears of the "trojan rabbit" from monty python's holy grail. Made them doing "fight on" every 20 seconds a little more bearable thinking about cute little rabbits.

Gophers are cute too, especially dancing gopher puppets.

by cliffaudit on Mar 28, 2007 2:11 PM CDT reply actions

Atlanta

I think that's what the caption on SI said the upside down v was for

by buiboy88 on Mar 28, 2007 7:48 PM CDT reply actions

they're not that bad

I may not have much to say for UCLA one way or the other, but I can't see them being the A&M of the Pac-10. They're not even in the same league of demented behavior. I tend to agree with wao23 that if for some reason they've taken on an upside down V sign, they've lost their shit.

by DC Trojan on Mar 28, 2007 8:57 PM CDT reply actions

The Real Answer

In urban culture, that hand sign stands for the letter "A". "A" as in Atlanta where the Final Four is going to be held. Please don't put UCLA in the same level as A&M. That's just disrespectful heh.

by CaliforniaHorn on Mar 29, 2007 1:58 AM CDT reply actions