History Main / GretzkyHasTheBall

* A ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' comic used this as part of SpotTheImpostor involving Barack Obama, of all people. It all starts with trouble at the Presidential Inauguration -- namely, ''two'' Obamas showing up, each claiming to be the real one. Spidey swings in and points out that Obama played basketball in college, leading to a Secret Service agent suggesting a three-point shootout to determine the real president. The fake Obama [[spoiler:who is actually the Chameleon in disguise]] begins sweating and stammers something like "even if we did find a basketball field, where will we find an umpire at this hour?" Sadly, this means that the world's first three-point shootout between a supervillain and a U.S. president has yet to happen. Ironically, two of the three officials for a college basketball game ''are'' called umpires (the third, the crew chief, is the only referee), but even rabid fans of the sport often don't know this, unless they have officiated themselves.

* One [[https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/watch-nfl-ref-calls-penalty-on-the-seattle-mariners/258760/one memorable occasion]], this actually happened with a ''real NFL referee''; during a 2022 game, Jerome Boger was trying to call a penalty on the Seattle Seahawks for head coach Pete Carroll entering the field, but instead called it on the "coaching staff of the Seattle '' Mariners''" -- Seattle's ''baseball'' team.

* One one memorable occasion, this actually happened with a ''real NFL referee''. During a 2022 game, Jerome Boger was trying to call a penalty on the Seattle Seahawks for head coach Pete Carroll entering the field, but instead called it on the "[[https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/watch-nfl-ref-calls-penalty-on-the-seattle-mariners/258760/ coaching staff of the Seattle]] ''[[https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/watch-nfl-ref-calls-penalty-on-the-seattle-mariners/258760/ Mariners]]''", which happens to be Seattle's ''baseball'' team.

* [[http://www.gocomics.com/getfuzzy/2014/05/09#.U2yaEleBr6c This]] ''ComicStrip/GetFuzzy'' manages a triple.

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' by the legendary Zapp Brannigan, only with board and parlor games:
-->'''Brannigan:''' If we can hit that bullseye, then the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.
** Also:
-->'''Brannigan:''' In the game of chess, you can never let your adversary see your pieces.

-->'''Dexter's Dad:''' What? What'd I miss? What just happened?\\

** In "Fear of a Bot Planet", the rules of blernsball, the futuristic version of baseball, is already confusing to begin with. Fry attempts to keep up, but his description is basically the word "blern" said over and over, to which Leela says, "With the exception of the word 'blern', that was complete gibberish."

The best way to show someone's incredible lack of sports knowledge is to have them describe a sporting event by jumbling together terms and people from a bunch of different sports. Many {{Sitcom}}s use this, usually setting the man up to be [[BestedAtBowling humiliated by a woman]], use his incorrect boasting to show that he's a KnowNothingKnowItAll, or to make clear who the show's "[[RatedMForManly manly men]][[TradeSnark ™]]" are in comparison to other men and to the women. Sometimes it is a companion of the sports fan that, when having to watch a game, attempts to understand the rules and gets it totally wrong. Regardless of the scenario, it is always PlayedForLaughs.

* Monta in ''Anime/Eyeshield21'' is being told that his nickname comes from the famous receiver Joe Montana (a quarterback) instead of the protagonist just misreading his real name and finding Monta appropriate since he looks like a monkey. Monta never bothered checking after he joined American Football and still claims this is where his nickname come from.

-->"Now, football's the one with the sticks, isn't it?" [[note]]Mind you, the Doctor then proceeds to completely dominate the match, showing up pretty much everyone on the pitch.[[/note]] Which is a case of making use of TheCastShowoff, as Matt Smith had been a footballer (with several prominant football clubs' youth teams) before a back injury forced him to give it up, and resulted in him going into acting instead.

* Subverted in December 2015: a headline on MLB.com's website reads [[http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2015/12/26/160491730/alex-rodriguez-pinstripe-bowl-2015 "A-Rod Scored a Touchdown in Yankee Stadium"]]. No, not the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Rodriguez baseball slugger for the New York Yankees]]. Yankee Stadium hosts the annual Pinstripe Bowl, a college football bowl game that in 2015 was between the Duke Blue Devils and the Indiana Hoosiers. On the Indiana roster was a freshman running back named...[[http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/3858264/alex-rodriguez Alex Rodriguez]]. Who was able to run the ball into the end zone in the 3rd quarter of the game, leading to the headline. The game's announcers did some LampshadeHanging on [[NamesTheSame his name]] when Rodriguez scored, imitating the home-run calls of long-time Yankees play-by-play announcer John Sterling.

-->"Now, football's the one with the sticks, isn't it?" [[note]]Mind you, the Doctor then proceeds to completely dominate the match, showing up pretty much everyone on the pitch.[[/note]]

* ''Literature/{{Gate}}'': The JSDF tries to teach the Rose-Order Knights sports, but they mostly don't get it. When they play ping pong, Princess Piña Co Lada hits the ball into her opponents face. When they play baseball, she thinks the object is to hit everyone around you with the bat.

* In a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-mSGikBezc promo]] for ''Creator/{{ESPN}} College Gameday'', the main cast are shown playing cards. [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Lee Corso]] lays down his cards with a triumphant "Straight flush!"[[note]]That's a poker hand[[/note]]
-->'''Kirk Herbstreit:''': We're playing spades!\\
''[[[BeatPanel beat]]]''\\
'''Corso''': ''King me!''[[note]]That's a checkers term[[/note]] (The others throw their cards down in disgust)

* The ''Series/{{Friends}}'' episode that centers on rugby:
** Joey attempts to describe what is happening to the others. He says that a scrum is "like a huddle" (in American football). It is not at all, as the scrum is an active part of gameplay involving both teams, and a football huddle is simply a team's strategizing session between plays. He also says this when no scrum is visible on the screen. Granted, the entire point of the plotline is how ignorant the American characters are of the rules of rugby, so this may have been intentional.
** Ross's game also doesn't make much sense.
*** Emily singles out a player who doesn't wear a cup. In reality, rugby laws are very strict on protective clothing - wearing cups are not permitted. The same goes for Ross's knee pads.
*** Rugby referees generally don't wear zebra clothing.
*** The signal to half time is blown while the ball is in play. First half can only end when there is a stoppage of play.
*** The scrum is missing the halfbacks, and you can't join a scrum after it has started. Granted, that scene was entirely PlayedForLaughs - you also can't join a scrum ''head first''.
** Almost literal example in one ThanksgivingEpisode when Chandler pretended that he was eager to watch the [[UsefulNotes/ThanksgivingDay Thanksgiving game]] in order to avoid helping Monica with household chores. When challenged to name three players of "his team", he [[EpicFail named]] [[UsefulNotes/WayneGretzky Gretzky]] and [[UsefulNotes/{{Tennis}} Agassi]]...

%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Towards the end of "Lisa on Ice", Bart has to take a penalty shot with the clock counting down. In real hockey, the clock does not run during penalty shots. The episode's writer (Mike Scully) points this out in the DVD commentary—he's a hockey fan and knows this, but he decided to take some artistic license for the sake of the ending.

* A quick side scene between ThoseTwoGuys in the stands in ''Film/TheWaterboy'': "(Boucher's) the best tackler I've seen since Joe Montana!" "...Joe Montana was a quarterback, you idiot."
* At the beginning of ''Film/TheBigLebowski'', one of the thugs takes out a bowling ball. Confused, he asks, "What's this?" The Dude snarkily replies, "Obviously, you're not a golfer."

* According to [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]] ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestar_Runner#History link]]), ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' got its name from a friend of The Brothers Chaps having gotten his sports lingo all mixed up.

* During a ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' stream, LetsPlay/DaithiDeNogla mentioned that the reason his character had a baseball bat was that he'd just come from playing a baseball game, and that he was the "[[https://youtu.be/5gRBuD0b0tE swinger for the L.A. Lakers]]". Cue {{Corpsing}} from everyone on the stream.

* One sign that Ivy from ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'' is a {{nerd}} is her almost complete incomprehension of sports. When it comes up in conversation, she bluffs with what little she learned from her football-obsessed uncle.

* A ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' comic used this as part of SpotTheImpostor [[WereStillRelevantDammit involving Barack Obama, of all people.]] It all starts with trouble at the Presidential Inauguration -- namely, ''two'' Obamas showing up, each claiming to be the real one. Spidey swings in and points out that Obama played basketball in college, leading to a Secret Service agent suggesting a three-point shootout to determine the real president. The fake Obama [[spoiler:who is actually the Chameleon in disguise]] begins sweating and stammers something like "even if we did find a basketball field, where will we find an umpire at this hour?" Sadly, this means that the world's first three-point shootout between a supervillain and a U.S. president has yet to happen. Ironically, two of the three officials for a college basketball game ''are'' called umpires (the third, the crew chief, is the only referee), but even rabid fans of the sport often don't know this, unless they have officiated themselves.

* In an episode of ''Series/TheFlash2014'', Dr. Wells and Hartley Rathaway (the Pied Piper) are playing chess in a flashback. Hartley puts Wells in Check, and Wells [[SurpriseCheckmate immediately puts Hartley in checkmate.]] 1) Wells should only be able to do that if securing the checkmate also blocks the piece threatening his king. [[note]]To be fair, we never see Wells' King and he may have saved his King in the same move for all we know[[/note]] 2) We see a close-up of the chess board where Hartley's King is, and it's pretty much physically impossible for him to be in checkmate given the pieces we see.

** Although there is a Welsh Rugby Union player called Michael Owen, which was confusing to overhear in recent commentary.

* Pretty much every depiction of poker in film or TV features a line to the effect of, "I see your bet and raise you..." In real life, this is a 'string bet' and the player would be forced to only call. Potentially justified if they're only playing informally in their kitchen (since the characters are usually not experts and are really only interested in trying to one-up each other), but on the rare occasion when it takes place in an actual casino, it becomes a problem.
* [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wCPnNmUV3wk/TeXZrpizX3I/AAAAAAAAVCc/yMIpQ0pm_cI/s400/stacey%2B%2528smc%2529.ow.basketball%2Brequest%2B%2528baseball%2Bplayers%2529.jpg This cake.]]
* [[http://www.snorgtees.com/t-shirts/home-run These]] [[http://www.snorgtees.com/touchdown T-shirts,]] invoking the trope for laughs.
* People who are critical of and/or dismissive toward sports and sports fandom often invoke this trope deliberately as a form of snarking. The term "[[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sportsball sportsball]]" is a popular example.
** [[http://vectorbelly.com/electrical177.html "You were sportsing pretty hard out there. A lot of sports happened."]]
* [[http://angrydm.com/ The Angry DM]] -- a blogger writing about the theory of running {{Tabletop RPG}}s as a DM, GM, or whatever they call it in whatever system you use -- makes a running gag of intentionally butchering sportsball metaphors wherever possible. For example, from [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150826105517/http://angrydm.com/2010/07/everyones-a-leader-in-their-own-way/2/ Page 2 of "Everyone's a Leader in Their Own Way"]]:
-->"Returning briefly to the example of hockeying: a good defensive hockeyist cannot stop at simply preventing the other team's offenders from kicking the ball into the hoop. If the defender simply tackles the offender and sends the ball flying off across the court in some random direction, he has protected his net, but he hasn't really done much for the team beyond that. Instead, the defender should try to steal the ball and pass it to one of his own offenders so that offender can now try to score a check mate."

[[folder:Real Life]]
* After the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals]] played to a tie in 2008, Eagles quarterback Donovan [=McNabb=] revealed after the game that he had no idea NFL games could end in a tie. Other players stepped up to defend [=McNabb=]'s gaffe. Most notably Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, who stated that probably half the league's players wouldn't know that rule. It's usually spelled out by the referee at the beginning of any overtime period, and if the refs don't, the announcers will. Also, NFL standings have a column for ties.
* In a 2009 game between the Bengals and the Browns, broadcaster Rich Gannon debated whether the Bengals should run down the clock before kicking an overtime field goal, so as not to allow the Browns time to return a kick. His broadcast partner helpfully reminded him that NFL overtime (under then-existing rules) is {{sudden death}}. Edges into RightForTheWrongReasons, since while there would be no kickoff, the Bengals ''were'' running down the clock to prevent the Browns from being able to run a scoring drive of their own in the event the field goal was missed.
* Shoeless Joe Jackson had the puck in the form of House Member Christopher Shays' "In 1919 the Chicago Blackhawks Scandal...", apparently referring to the "Black Sox scandal" where players of the Chicago White Sox baseball team fixed the 1919 World Series. The Chicago Blackhawks is an ice hockey team founded in 1926.
* When UsefulNotes/SarahPalin resigned the Alaska governorship, she described herself as a "point guard"...and [[{{Metaphorgotten}} then it]] [[http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/07/07/its-on-point-guards-vs-sarah-palin/ got weird]]. The fact that she played as a point guard in high school and majored in sports journalism just adds to the absurdity.
** As UsefulNotes/JohnMcCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election, Palin appeared at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, and inexplicably stated that she was "thrilled to be here in the home state of the world champion Philadelphia Phillies!" What Palin apparently didn't understand was that baseball fans in Erie, being in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, prefer either the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Cleveland Guardians (then known as Indians) and ''hate'' the Philadelphia Phillies.
* More than one retired baseball umpire has admitted he had no idea how to correctly identify and call a balk on a pitcher. For reference, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balk Here's]] [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]]'s [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balk page on balks]].
* The book "The Stupidest Things Ever Said By Politicians" gives us this beauty of an analogy:
-->At the end of the field is a field goal and what if the referee were to move the field goal every inning and carry the ball over the finish line.
* Many boxing fans don't seem to realize that the referee and the timekeeper have no official relationship during a fight, and thus unfairly accuse a ref of screwing a fighter with a decision that didn't take time into account. The most infamous examples:
** The "Long Count Fight" of 1927 where Gene Tunney retained the heavyweight title against Jack Dempsey. Many people felt Dempsey was robbed of a knockout win when he floored Tunney in the seventh round because referee Dave Barry spent five seconds ordering Dempsey to go to a neutral corner before starting the count. By the rules, however, this was exactly what Barry should have done since Dempsey didn't immediately do so (many also don't realize this was the first title fight ever to use the neutral corner rule). Some boxing fans have suggested Barry was supposed to have checked with the timekeeper and adjusted his count accordingly; however, there is nothing in the rules saying that's what he should have done.
** The 1990 Julio César Chávez–Medrick Taylor fight when referee Richard Steele declared Chávez the winner by TKO with two seconds left in the final round. Since many observers believed Taylor was well ahead on points and would have won had the clock run out, they were appalled that Steele didn't check the clock and just let it run. But Steele's job was only to see if Chávez's last minute assault left Taylor unable to continue ''regardless'' of the time, and since Taylor didn't respond to Steele ''twice'' asking if he was okay, it was the right call. Furthermore, when interviewed by Larry Merchant immediately following the bout, Taylor was so out of it that he said Steele ''didn't even ask him any questions'' or try to see if he was okay. Also, for the entire time that Steele was giving him a standing eight-count and asking him if he was OK, Taylor never let go of the ropes which he had used to pull himself up, another sign that Taylor probably wasn't fit to continue fighting.
* Brett Hull's goal that won the 1999 Stanley Cup for the Dallas Stars is regarded as one of the worst officiating moves in sports history on the claims that Hull was illegally in the goalie crease. Much of this is based on the Buffalo coach's accusation that the officials refused to review the goal because they didn't want to have to clear the ice and resume the game upon being proven wrong. While the goal itself is debatable, the officials have insisted they DID review the play and ruled that since Hull kicked the puck with his skate, he had possession and the goal was therefore legal.
** When the NHL shortly thereafter announced that goals in the crease were no longer reviewable plays, everyone assumed they were covering their tracks because of the Hull goal, but the league had made that decision before the Stanley Cup Finals began.
* ESPN did a preview of the EURO 2012. Apparently Argentina participates in the ''European'' championship, there are only 16 games instead of over 30, and Cristiano Ronaldo looks exactly like Ronaldo (de Lima, from ''Brazil'').
* In September 2012, Old Navy released a line of licensed NFL t-shirts, emblazoned with the date of every team's last, highest playoff win. [[note]]league or conference championships, with the (erroneous) exception of Jacksonville, who has never been beyond the conference championships.[[/note]] They also made several glaring errors:
** The Detroit Lions were credited with the 1957 NFC championship. Detroit was the 1957 National Football ''League'' champions. There was no National Football ''Conference'' until the 1970 merger of the National and American Football Leagues.
** The Cleveland Browns were credited with the 1964 AFC championship... which is wrong on ''two'' levels. Not only was there no American Football Conference in 1964, but the Browns were never in the AFL. They should have been credited with the 1964 NFL championship, their last championship and the last championship for Cleveland in any sport until UsefulNotes/{{LeBron|James}} willed the Cavaliers to the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA]] crown in 2016.
** The New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs were tabbed as NFL Champions in 1968 and 1969. They were AFL champions and winners of the last two pre-merger Super Bowls.
** The most egregious error was the [[http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8332320/old-navy-shirt-incorrectly-gives-title-houston-texans Houston Texans being credited with the 1961 AFC championship.]] Neither the AFC nor the Texans existed in 1961. The Texans didn't exist until 2002; the Houston ''Oilers'' (now the Tennessee Titans) were the ''AFL'' champions (they played the ''Dallas'' Texans, who became the Chiefs in 1964).
* American sports commentators sometimes use the phrase "[[RugbyIsSlaughter an old-fashioned rugby scrum]]" to describe a chaotic mess with players piled on top of each other, or even an outright fight. However, a rugby scrum is structured and tightly regulated. Rucks and mauls, on the other hand, are a different story.
* Subverted in December 2015: a headline on MLB.com's website reads [[http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2015/12/26/160491730/alex-rodriguez-pinstripe-bowl-2015 "A-Rod Scored a Touchdown in Yankee Stadium"]]. No, not the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Rodriguez baseball slugger for the New York Yankees]]. Yankee Stadium hosts the annual Pinstripe Bowl, a college football bowl game that in 2015 was between the Duke Blue Devils and the Indiana Hoosiers. On the Indiana roster was a freshman running back named...[[http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/3858264/alex-rodriguez Alex Rodriguez]]. Who was able to run the ball into the end zone in the 3rd quarter of the game, leading to the headline. The game's announcers did some LampshadeHanging on [[NamesTheSame his name]] when Rodriguez scored, imitating the home-run calls of long-time Yankees play-by-play announcer John Sterling.
* Averted with Gretzky's own son Trevor, who has spent several seasons playing minor league baseball.
* While calling a 2017 NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, CBS announcer Jim Nantz joked that the score was “3-2 Kansas City, top of the first”. While the allusion was obviously to a baseball score, this would be impossible since only one team has the opportunity to score in each half-inning, and "top of the first" refers to the very first half-inning of the game; thus, one team has had no opportunity to score yet.
* Many UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} announcers have made the mistake of assuming it's legal to go below the yellow or double yellow line on the last lap to make a pass.
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/{{Bottom}}'': Culture [[PlayedForLaughs plays it for laughs]] and [[UpToEleven takes it up to eleven]] with chess. It wasn’t going to go well with Richie insisting on playing a game he admitted he didn’t know how to play…

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E11TheLodger "The Lodger"]], the Eleventh Doctor's [[TheWonka Wonka]] nature and PopCulturalOsmosisFailure have been thrust UpToEleven (so to speak), with lines like: