Sugar Land Skeeters

15

This is Steve Miller's fault, of course.

You've heard the song "Space Cowboy" by Steve Miller, of course. You've been listening to the classic rock station, or maybe just flipping through the radio dial, and you heard it: "Some people call me the Space Cowboy, Some people call me the Gangster of Love, Some people call me Maurice." Okay, first of all, stop right there, because that's not "Space Cowboy" by Steve Miller Band. A lot of people think that's the name of it, but it's actually called "The Joker", and each of the first three lines references a previous song by Steve Miller Band that you've probably never heard. Which means there is a song by Steve Miller Band called "Space Cowboy", it's just not the one a lot of people think it is. I listened to the song actually called "Space Cowboy" while working getting ready for this review, and I didn't recognize it at all. I didn't think it was anything special, which may explain why "The Joker" is well known and "Space Cowboy" isn't. Then again I don't think "The Joker" is anything special, either. Maybe I'm just not the best person to ask.

Incidentally, the first two lines of "Space Cowboy" are "I told you 'bout livin' in the U.S. of A, don't you know that I'm a gangster of love?" So there's another reference to the song "Gangster of Love", and also he had another song called "Living in the U.S.A.". Apparently Steve Miller just thought he'd keep referencing older songs until one of the songs got somewhere, and the song that did was "The Joker". I also listened to "Gangster of Love", incidentally, and I didn't find it very memorable, either. And while I was at it I gave "Enter Maurice" a listen, and...look, Steve Miller just isn't my thing, okay?

As for the logo, it has nothing to do with Steve Miller. Instead, it features one of the members of Daft Punk wearing a cowboy hat and a bandana. Is this a good logo? It certainly conveys the idea of a cowboy in space. But it turns out that's not really what the term means. See, the term "space cowboy" precedes the song. Apparently it originally meant someone who was constantly high on marijuana. I've never heard it used to mean that myself, but according to the song meaning website I looked it up on that's what it originally meant, and I see no reason to doubt it. But I can understand the team in Sugar Land deciding that wasn't the image they wanted to go with. And indeed, when they explain why they picked the name, they don't mention that. They claim it has something to do with their affiliation with the Houston Astros.

They can claim that all they want, but I'm not buying it. I mean, let's be real: the name comes from the song. They'd have never picked this name were it not for this song.

And by "the song" I of course mean "The Joker", because we've already established nobody has actually heard the song "Space Cowboy".

Final Score: 15 points.
Penalties: Alliteration, 5 pts; Name, 10 pts.
Bonuses: None.