# Changing forum name from "Opera" to "Opry"... sorry, no dice...



## Guest (Nov 3, 2017)

I was going to suggest to the webmaster that he change the name of this forum from "Opera" to "Opry" in order to make this wonderful genre less intimidating and more welcoming to newcomers ... well, I was until I read this on Wikipedia - 

"The company has enforced its trademark on the name "Grand Ole Opry", for which it owns trademark registrations in the United States and in numerous countries around the world. It has taken court action to limit use of the word "opry" (which the organization has not directly trademarked) to members of the Opry and products associated with or licensed by it, and to discourage use of the word in ways that would imply a connection to the Grand Ole Opry."

So I just wanted everyone to know that I am preemptively ending my campaign to change the name of the forum and will no longer require your support... I would like to thank those of you who wrote letters, made phone calls, and made cash donations in an effort to lobby this issue or would have been willing to do so had I requested your help...

"Opera" it is... to hell with making this wonderful genre less intimidating and more welcoming to newcomers... and damn that Grand Ole Opry for stealing what could have been my crowning achievement or failing that a feather in my cap at least... I'm left to gnash my teeth in the agony of defeat...

If anyone has any recommendations for arias to play while gnashing one's teeth in the agony of defeat I would appreciate hearing them...

Thank you to one and all...


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Frankly, I like the snob appeal! (only teasing


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Nudge and a Wink said:


> and damn that Grand Ole Opry for stealing what could have been my crowning achievement or failing that a feather in my cap at least...


Careful, now. We Nashvillians are protective about our Opry.

(Well, to be honest, we mostly ignore it.)


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2017)

Manxfeeder said:


> Careful, now. We Nashvillians are protective about our Opry.
> 
> (Well, to be honest, we mostly ignore it.)


Yikes! I gave you the wrong impression about both Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry - my apologies!

Nashville is absolutely great - one of my favourite cities - I was there in 2011 for the Western Conference semi-final playoffs and even though we were proudly (and rather ostentatiously strutting around like blue and green peacocks) wearing our "colours" -









while walking around the Bridgestone Arena everyone we met could not have been more gracious or welcoming (even though their team was losing - how cool is that, eh?) and they seemed genuinely thrilled to meet some real honest to goodness genuine Canadians ( my how exotic we are!).

They just could not believe that anyone in their right mind would actually fly 2500 miles just to see a hockey game... They kept referring to us as "you Canadian fellers..." e.g. "you Canadian fellers sure are wild-*** crazy about your hockey" and "you Canadian fellers sure like your beer" (we actually hear that a lot come to think of it)... We had a great time and really enjoyed being amongst such friendly and good-natured folks... Hope to make a second trip some day!

Best wishes to you and extend my thanks for the warm and gracious welcome to the good people of Nashville!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I have never before been grateful for trademarks.


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

nashville??? Vancover?? but who has 5 Stanley Cups!! (ok van beat pens 4-2 tonight) but....Opry!! "i been layin for ya for days"


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2017)

ldiat said:


> nashville??? Vancover?? but who has 5 Stanley Cups!! (ok van beat pens 4-2 tonight) but....Opry!! "i been layin for ya for days"


Check this post out...

How would you rank countries for their contribution to Classical music

and I'm serious about not mentioning the final score unless you're trying intentionally to make me cry...


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Nudge and a Wink said:


> Best wishes to you and extend my thanks for the warm and gracious welcome to the good people of Nashville!


Thanks! I was just kidding about my statement. Nashville has a history of not taking itself seriously.

We used to call ourselves the Athens of the South because of all the colleges/universities crammed into such a small space, and Nashville used to pride itself in broadcasting opera on the radio. There was a small country station which found an available slot after the opera broadcast, and in deference to the great cultural experience which the Nashvillians had just encountered, with tongue firmly planted in their cheek, they decided to call it the Grand Ole Opry.

It's funny; the Opry outlasted the opera.

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed your experience here. We are kind of proud of our Preds this year.


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

Nudge and a Wink said:


> Check this post out...
> 
> How would you rank countries for their contribution to Classical music
> 
> and I'm serious about not mentioning the final score unless you're trying intentionally to make me cry...


cool! i stated to my wife bet he sings opera! and long season for the game.


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

Manxfeeder said:


> Thanks! I was just kidding about my statement. Nashville has a history of not taking itself seriously.
> 
> We used to call ourselves the Athens of the South because of all the colleges/universities crammed into such a small space, and Nashville used to pride itself in broadcasting opera on the radio. There was a small country station which found an available slot after the opera broadcast, and in deference to the great cultural experience which the Nashvillians had just encountered, with tongue firmly planted in their cheek, they decided to call it the Grand Ole Opry.
> 
> ...


Manxfeeder gee i know your proud of the PREDS...of course my PENS did win the cup! GO PENS!


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2017)

ldiat said:


> cool! i stated to my wife bet he sings opera! and long season for the game.


Thanks! - let me know what you think of this thread -

Operatic Canadian and American National Anthems...

It has been my good fortune to be able to see the Canucks play the Blackhawks in Chicago (beautiful city, friendly people, great food, terrific beer! - shout out to the good folks at Goose Island Brewery - sorry about the broken glasses but honestly it was kind of your own fault because who pours beer in thin stemmed glasses to Canadians of all people?).

The crowd at the United Center is every bit as crazed when their anthem is played as they appear on the video - it's just completely nuts and has to be seen to be believed...

I don't like to brag...(actually I do but that's neither here or there) but it takes a great deal of courage to wear the visiting team's colours when you're on their turf and we were there when the rivalry between our two teams was the personification of pure unadulterated hatred (on their part, not ours, we don't take rivalries all that seriously because every single one of the other 28 teams hated our guts just as much as the Blackhawks did and it's kind of exhausting to stoke rivalries with fans from 28 different cities), but they couldn't stand us.. by "us" I mean the Canucks not us personally...

Anyway we were walking around the different levels of the United Center strutting around like blue and green peacocks just to kind of good naturedly razz 'em a bit - trading insults back and forth without actually being stupid enough to actually taunt them into a fist-flying fury - we may be crazy but we're not nuts...

It was kind of fun, scary and really dangerous because everyone in Chicago is HUGE - some of 'em are as tall as they are wide, but good clean fun nonetheless.... Blackhawk fans (always walking around with TWO beers and taking alternate sips from each one - what a hoot, eh?) kept walking right up to us (there were six of us all wearing the blue and green) and they would say (in this really kind of menacing Chicago accent which I can't reproduce phonetically)..."You guys better be goddamned Canadians"... which honestly kind of puzzled us because the word "Vancouver" is right on the front of our sweaters (jersey to you Americans) and we weren't certain exactly why they kept saying some variation of that statement and why they suddenly became so friendly when we told them that we were indeed "goddamned Canadians" so we finally decided to ask.

Turns out that Chicago fans are pretty cool about visiting team fans wearing their team's colours in their building as long as those visiting team fans are actually from that particular city. Apparently people from Chicago (who otherwise are some of the friendliest Americans you'll ever meet) absolutely loathe and hold in a deep, profound, and seething contempt any one of their fellow Chicagoans who flys the colours of the visiting team.

Personally I don't get it... If you go to any Canucks game at Rogers Arena in downtown Van or pretty much any barn in Canada you're going to see every sweater of every team in the league both those that are active and those that don't even exist anymore... There are two guys here in Van who wear Quebec Nordiques sweaters to every single home game and get this they aren't even French Canadians - they're from Medicine Hat in Alberta of all places and the Nords haven't even existed since 1995! And we (I mean Canadians) wonder why no one ever takes us seriously...

Anyway, if anyone from Chicago is reading this I extend my thanks for the warm and gracious welcome that you gave us when we were able to reassure you that we were indeed "goddamned Canadians" and who kept buying us round after round of beers at that Goose Island brew-pub even though we accidentally kept breaking off the stems of those poncy beer glasses!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

ldiat said:


> Manxfeeder gee i know your proud of the PREDS...of course my PENS did win the cup! GO PENS!


Yep, salt in the wound. I'm throwing a catfish on your front porch.


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