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A Tribute to the Sportsmanship of the Fans

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A Tribute to the Sportsmanship of the Fans
by Robert Ervin Howard
585927A Tribute to the Sportsmanship of the FansRobert Ervin Howard

Headlock, hammerlock, toss him on his bean again,
   Jump on his belly and boot him in the hips,
Clamp the scissors on his neck
   and choke him till he's green again
   Get the fans wild-eyed, with froth on their lips.

Barlock, body-slam, nibble on his ears again—
   Its just like eating cabbage—and kick him in the groin,
Butt him in the belly, that brings the cheers again,
   The fans want a run for their hard-spent coin.

Flying-mare, toe-hold, twist his neck around again,
   Wrap his legs around his waist and tie them in a knot,
Stamp in his mouth so his teeth cannot be found again,
   The fans paid their money so make it good and hot.

Stranglehold, leg-split, jerk his knee-caps loose again,
   Crack his ribs and break his arms, leave him life-long lame,
Send him out on a shutter—then listen to the boos again,
   The kind fans howling that the battle was too tame.

This work is from the United States and in the public domain because it was not legally published with the permission of the copyright holder before January 1, 2003 and the author died 88 years ago. This is a posthumous work and its copyright in certain countries and areas may depend on years since posthumous publication, rather than years since the author's death. Translations or editions published later may be copyrighted.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1936, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 87 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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