Phoenix Suns' Touching Cinco de Mayo Tribute

Happy Cinco de Mayo sports fans. 

We are happy to announce that, as part of the Mexican holiday that isn’t really celebrated by that many people in Mexico, but is widely celebrated by Americans who have no idea as to why they’re drinking 15 margaritas, the Phoenix Suns have once again decided to “honor the Latino community” by insulting their intelligence. 

The notable date along with the controversial immigration laws put in effect in Arizona  recently made the timing ideal for Suns owner Robert Sarver to announce that, for tonight’s playoff game against the Spurs, his team will once again break out their “Los Suns” jerseys. 

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich loved the idea and lamented the fact that his team couldn’t produce their revolutionary “Los Spurs” jerseys in time for the game.  “It’s a wonderful idea,” Popovich said according to the AP story . “It kind of shows what we all should be about.”

Perhaps we’re being too cynical in typical blogger fashion, but is essentially mangling the Spanish language in order to add the equivalent of the word “the” to the team name really “what we all should be about?"

Perhaps it would be more of a tribute if the team took a few minutes to look up the word “Suns” in Spanish and went with the actual translation, “Soles.” (Full disclosure—we are often amongst the meatheaded Americans who are guilty of assuming that every word becomes Spanish when you put an “El” or “Los” in front of it, but at least we don’t act like it’s a tribute to Mexico when we do. )

It’s the equivalent of the Mexican community collectively deciding that, they would take off work on Patriots Day , get hammered on Budweiser and rally around the one basketball team that threw the word “The” in front of their name to pay tribute to the United States. 

We have to believe that, if the NBA league officials nixed the Los Suns idea, Sarver’s next plan was to honor the Latino community by giving away Taco Bell coupons. 

Basically our point is—how about our basketball teams just play basketball instead of using an Americanized Mexican holiday to push subtle political views and then convincing themselves that it is—as Suns GM Steve Kerr put it—a “celebration of diversity?”

I’m sure our neighbors to the South are touched.

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