And the K is silent

Verne baby!

Usually, Vern Lundquist isn’t a complete idiot. 

But when March Madness games are played in Louisville, Kentucky, Verne and his son, Jim Nantz fall all over themselves as they try to outdo themselves with what they have decided are the correct pronunciations of this city.

Louisville's beautiful water front

Let me take you back.

This all began with the rise of Severiaño Ballesteros Sota.  In the Catalan language, (the language of the Catalanos) Sota translates to ‘valet’ or ‘knave’ which is how CBS treated Severiaño in his early days on the PGA Tour when God Forbid! he outplayed the PGA’s golden boy, Tom Watson.  Neither Lundquist, nor Nantz could pronounce Severiaño, so they shortened his name to Seve Knave – and all the other TV announcers followed suit.

 

Seve Knave

So along comes Severiaño’s progeny, José María Olazábal Manterola.  Most Americans were happy and content to just call him Jose Maria Ola´zah-bel.  It was comfortable and in the hushed tones around the greens it sounded like Lundquist was saying, “Jose y Maria ‘zat Taco Bell”.  BUT… insiders say things changed. 

It was April 1989 when Nick Faldo won The Masters and finished the Butler Cabin

Ola-thaw-bull at the Grey Bar Hotel

interview, that Faldo dragged Nantz into Augusta National’s Trophy Room and started pouring shots of Stolichnaya into him. This was payback for Nantz’s habit of passive-aggressive dogging Faldo’s play on the air. Henry Longhurst recalls that, “Nick’s plan was to get Nantz hammered, load him into a cart and roll the bugger out deep in the woods around Amen Corner. He thought it’d be like that scene from Deliverance, but Nick came up with a better plan!”   

Nantz: "Here's looking at you Ola-Thaw Bulll"

Faldo had been joined by some of the other Guinness fueled Euros and together they convinced a now totally wasted Nantz, that the correct pronunciation of Olazábal was Ola-thaw-bull.

Have you ever been to Spain?  Just try saying that to some golf nuts in a seaside bar in Marbella!  But the joke continues to this day – in the USA!

Which brings me back to Verne Lundquist and Louisville.

We all know that the only time it’s perfectly acceptable to pronounce Louisville as “Louie´-ville” is when you’re making fun of Rick Pitino, or the basketball/football team.  At all other times, simply say Loo-a-vul . Simple.

BUT…listen very carefully to Lundquist and Nantz as they dig deep to pronounce it, “Lull-egh-vull”.  Seriously!  Listen to them murder it. It’s hysterical!

I say it’s the ghost of Seve Knave coming back to haunt them. It’s madness I tell you – Madness!!