Avoiding the Drop

One of the greatest names for a sports figure belonged (more about the use of the past tense below) to former Memphis State basketball player Baskerville Holmes.  His name was not just different, it showed creativity on his mother’s part- it sounded stately, almost regal.  One could imagine Baskerville playing a game, taking a shower, and then changing into a nice tweed jacket before a leisurely stroll among changing leaves on the school’s campus.  This image, however, only worked if one could block out the fact that the young Mr. Holmes was “student athlete” at Memphis State during the 1980s.  These two images are, at best, incongruous.

Over the past two decades few names have caught both the ear and the imagination the way that Baskerville Holmes’ did, but that changed.  While reading about the United States U-20 World Cup team’s exploits in Egypt the name of an opposing defender in their recent match against Cameroon leaped off the page- Banana Yaya.  Further investigation revealed that his name might actually be “Yaya Banana,” but, lacking all but the most cursory knowledge of French prevented confirmation in favor of one version or the other.  It matters not, however.  Both names roll off the tongue and set one’s mind racing.  Without ever having seen him play, one imagines that he is a skillful player, inventive with the ball, always ready with a smile for teammate and opponent alike, and that the bright colors of Cameroon’s kit symbolize both his nationality and personality.

One hopes that Banana Yaya/Yaya Banana’s future is as fruitful as his name suggests.  Moreover, one hopes that his life is happier- and longer- than that of Baskerville Holmes.