Sports Champions
Sports Champions
[Two rows of people wielding sports equipment are shown, six in the upper row, five in the lower, only the last has no equipment but is standing behind a lectern with a microphone attached to it. Below each person, their name is given and the decade in which they were champions of their sport is given below their name, in brackets. Here is a list of the 11 people:]
[Woman with dark hair holding a tennis racket] Margaret Court (1960s)
[Cueball with a golf club] Gary Player (1970s)
[Cueball with a basketball] Lonzo Ball (2020s)
[Hairy on a skateboard] Jake Halfpipe (2030s)
[Woman with dark hair wearing a swim cap and goggles] Sarah Goggles (2030s)
[A man with a baseball cap throwing a baseball to the right] Kevin Slurve (2050s)
[A woman with long black hair in a knit cap and wearing ski googles is standing on skis holding ski poles] Julia Chairlift (2050s)
[Hairy holding a badminton racket bouncing a shuttlecock on it] Dwight Shuttlecock (2060s)
[Hairy holding a pair of shoes in his hand] Brandon Sponsorship (2060s)
[Hairbun standing next to a bicycle.] Kate Dopingscandal (2070s)
[Hairy standing behind a lectern with a microphone on it.] Jebediah Disasterous Postgame PressConference (2080s)
[Caption below the panel:] Fun fact: Every sport eventually produces a champion competitor named after a common element of the game.

In an example of nominative determinism , the comic lists people whose surname relates to their participation in various sports. It is presented as though it was created in the far future, reflecting on champions over the decades through to the 2080s. The first three are real sportspeople, the remainder are imaginary players of the future. The names progress from real, to fictional-but-plausible, to rare or highly unusual, to utterly implausible and impractical names.
The caricatures are participating in their sport, except for Jebediah who is standing at a lectern .
Margaret Court (1960s, Tennis) Margaret Court is an Australian tennis player, former world number 1, who won many competitions in the 1960s and 70s. A tennis court is the playing arena used in that sport. Gary Player (1970s, Golf) Gary Player is a South African golfer who won nine major championships between 1959 and 1978. Competitors are often known as player s, such as in The Players Championship . Lonzo Ball (2020s, Basketball) Lonzo Ball is an American professional basketball player, with the Los Angeles Lakers at the time of publishing. The 2020s decade predicts future success, as he began playing professionally in 2017 and the comic was published in 2018. Basketball is, of course, a ball game . Jake Halfpipe (2030s, Skateboarding) A halfpipe is a structure used in extreme sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding. Sarah Goggles (2030s, Swimming) Goggles are protective eyewear used in many sports, such as swimming or skiing. Kevin Slurve (2050s, Baseball) A slurve is a baseball throwing technique, a portmanteau of sl ider and c urve . Julia Chairlift (2050s, Skiing) A chairlift is an aerial machine often used to transport winter sports participants up mountains. Dwight Shuttlecock (2060s, Badminton) A shuttlecock is a projectile used in the sport of badminton. Brandon Sponsorship (2060s, Unclear) Sporting professionals are often sponsored by corporations. Brandon is holding a pair of shoes, which are probably a branded sponsorship item. Possible pun on "brand on sponsorship", i.e. a sponsored player. Kate Dopingscandal (2070s, Cycling) There have been many doping scandals in the world of cycling. Doping refers to the "use of physiological substances or abnormal methods to obtain an artificial increase in performance." (See: 1173: Steroids .) Jebediah Disasterous Postgame-PressConference (2080s, Unspecified) At the end of sporting events - i.e. post-game - there is often a press conference where the competitors discuss the result. Sometimes, these live interviews are a disaster. Randall has chosen to spell his name as "Disasterous", rather than the more conventional "Disastrous". Title Text: Usain Bolt (2010s) and Derek Legs (2090s, Sprinting) From the title text, Usain Bolt is a retired world record sprinter . He was a solid contender for this list since he can bolt down the track. However the fictional Derek Legs is selected, either as an even faster sprinter, or because “legs” more clearly and unambiguously relates to running than “bolt” does.
[Two rows of people wielding sports equipment are shown, six in the upper row, five in the lower, only the last has no equipment but is standing behind a lectern with a microphone attached to it. Below each person, their name is given and the decade in which they were champions of their sport is given below their name, in brackets. Here is a list of the 11 people:]
[Woman with dark hair holding a tennis racket] Margaret Court (1960s)
[Cueball with a golf club] Gary Player (1970s)
[Cueball with a basketball] Lonzo Ball (2020s)
[Hairy on a skateboard] Jake Halfpipe (2030s)
[Woman with dark hair wearing a swim cap and goggles] Sarah Goggles (2030s)
[A man with a baseball cap throwing a baseball to the right] Kevin Slurve (2050s)
[A woman with long black hair in a knit cap and wearing ski googles is standing on skis holding ski poles] Julia Chairlift (2050s)
[Hairy holding a badminton racket bouncing a shuttlecock on it] Dwight Shuttlecock (2060s)
[Hairy holding a pair of shoes in his hand] Brandon Sponsorship (2060s)
[Hairbun standing next to a bicycle.] Kate Dopingscandal (2070s)
[Hairy standing behind a lectern with a microphone on it.] Jebediah Disasterous Postgame PressConference (2080s)
[Caption below the panel:] Fun fact: Every sport eventually produces a champion competitor named after a common element of the game.
