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Wizards/Bullets in Pop Culture

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 4:46 pm
by keynote
The Wizards have not left an indelible stamp on pop culture the way that, say, the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, and Knicks have. There's no Wizards/Bullets movie akin to Eddie, Celtics Pride, etc. But, the Wizards/Bullets have been featured/mentioned a few times here and there.

I'm starting this thread to compile examples of the Wizards/Bullets being mentioned in TV or film -- even in passing.

- Earlier this season, Wall, Beal, and Porter were each name-checked by White House staffers on ABC's Designated Survivor (as reported by the Sports Bog): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2016/11/17/today-in-sowizards-tv-show-designated-survivor-piles-on/?utm_term=.fddeae619259

- on Showtime's Homeland, the traitorous (and small-mouthed) Nick Brody's oblivious son Chris was a Wizards fan (as documented by Grantland): http://grantland.com/the-triangle/chris-brody-was-right-the-wizards-beat-the-heat/

- NBC's A Different World aired an episode in 1991 where Ron Johnson bought Bullets season tickets from a deceased Hillman professor's widow. Dwayne Wayne remarked that the season ticket waitlist was a mile long; in '91, that clearly wasn't the case. But Ron Johnson also sports a *dope* Bullets starter jacket in the episode (ffwd to the 16:30 mark):

Watch on YouTube


Anyone else have other examples?

Re: Wizards/Bullets in Pop Culture

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 5:19 pm
by montestewart
Great idea keynote (maybe there's an existing thread for this, but I can't think of one).

Muresan was in My Giant, does that count?

Former DC resident Nils Lofgren, a sideman/collaborator of Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, and Neil Young, with a prolific solo career too, wrote "Bullets Fever," which was a minor local hit

Chris Webber was on an episode of New York Undercover while he was with the Bullets

Juwan Howard was in an Episode of The West Wing and an episode of Arli$$ while he was with the Wizards, and also was in Hoop Dreams.

Manute Bol was all over the place Saturday Night Live, 700 Club, Celebrity Boxing, all after he left the Bullets.

Can't think of a movie or TV show that ever featured an NBA game with Bullets or Wizards

But then there's this:


Watch on YouTube


The Clash takes a typically English approach to describing Washington's basketball team in global political terms.

Re: Wizards/Bullets in Pop Culture

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 5:43 pm
by AFM

Re: Wizards/Bullets in Pop Culture

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 6:23 pm
by JAR69
I don't think it has anything to do with basketball, but there was a movie called "The Baltimore Bullet": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baltimore_Bullet#/media/File:Thebaltimorebullet_gip.jpg

Re: Wizards/Bullets in Pop Culture

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 6:29 pm
by keynote
montestewart wrote:Muresan was in My Giant, does that count?

Chris Webber was on an episode of New York Undercover while he was with the Bullets

Juwan Howard was in an Episode of The West Wing and an episode of Arli$$ while he was with the Wizards, and also was in Hoop Dreams.


Gheorghe and C-Web were each actors playing a role, so I'm not sure that counts (at least, in this made-up little game, anyway), any more than Ray Allen's appearance in He Got Game is a pop culture reference to the Milwaukee Bucks. But, I'll definitely count the Arli$$ episode, since a) the episode aired in '99, during Juwan's tenure in DC, and b) Juwan was playing himself (in every meaning of the phrase):


Watch on YouTube


Oof. It's obvious why Arli$$ (and Dream On, and 1st & Ten) aren't available for streaming on HBO Go these days. Sure, the legal reason is "we don't own the rights, and updating the syndication agreements to reflect the modern streaming landscape is difficult," but the business reason is that "those shows stunk, for the most part, and are way off-brand for today's HBO."

EDIT: and, I think Webber's celebrity cameo in Foxy Brown's "Big Bad Mama" video counts. The video dropped in '97, during Webber's time in DC:


Watch on YouTube



But then there's this:



The Clash takes a typically English approach to describing Washington's basketball team in global political terms.


:o I've never heard this. Nice find.

Re: Wizards/Bullets in Pop Culture

Posted: Thu Mar 30, 2017 6:30 pm
by JAR69
Even better - according to Wikipedia, footage of Bullets games was included in The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Centre. Definitely going to have to find that...