Bears and sluts

The ‘Punch lines’ of some team names. (Photo: Hans Stakelbeek/FMAX)

Each year the various teams of the Punch volleyball association choose new team names. Once the old and new team members have gotten to know each other, they start thinking of a team name. “It’s a big topic of conversation. Funny stories and jokes are exchanged after practice, and this always leads to great team names!” says Kris van Houten, Punch’s chairperson.
The team’s numerical ranking within the association (Heren 1, Heren 2, Heren 3, Dames 1, Dames 2, etc) is usually accompanied by a humorous team name that plays on numbers and words: Obzessed, Eén Team Eén Taak, Vier en Tieten, Bloedh-eight, Dellûf Ellûf, SevenTease…to name but a few recent team names.

“This has been the tradition for umpteen years", says Van Houten, who explains that the team warm-up suits, worn before and after matches, are also designed based on the team name and can range from bathrobes and bear skins to simple T-shirts. During Punch’s weekly club party night, some teams also host parties based around their team’s theme, and thus Beren 2 (Bears 2) cooked spareribs, while during the Drieezersletjes (‘Three-ezer Sluts’, which rhymes with ‘Breezer Sluts’) women’s (Dames 3) team party, the guests received free Bacardi Breezers (the joke being a play on a news report that some Dutch teenage girls exchange sexual favors for free Breezers at bars and clubs).

“The idea behind this is that you should also do other things with your team besides just playing volleyball. It also gives your team an identity within Punch, and helps build team-spirit. Additionally, it’s also meant to intimidate. Backed by loud fight songs sung from the stands, your opponents immediately feel intimidated. It should never be easy to play against a team from Punch.”