- Bang Cartoon
Infobox Website
name = Bang Cartoon
url = [http://www.bangcartoon.com Bang Cartoon.com]
commercial = yes
type = Website
language = English
registration =
owner = John Tayman
author = John Tayman
launch date = September 2003
current status = ActiveBang Cartoon (also called Bang Cartoons or Bang!) is a
website that hosts satiricalFlash cartoon s based almost exclusively on the NFL. It was created in September 2003. It is owned and operated by John Tayman who is a lifelong fan of the NFL and follows theWashington Redskins .In September 2005 a
podcast series was introduced hosted by Tayman and the site's producer Tom Lacks. Like the cartoons it is satirical and based mostly on the NFL. Lacks is an avid Buckeye and Cowboy fan and this is often a source humor on the show.The cartoons grew out of Tayman's love for the NFL and his belief that many NFL fans take the sport too seriously. It has attracted both praise and criticism and has also become popular among a number of the players that they generally
parody . The site hosts an active message board community which hosts discussion about the cartoon and podcasts.Links can be found on many player websites, most notablyClinton Portis andSantana Moss .History
It began in early 2003 when Tayman produced two cartoons, about the
Washington Redskins ownerDaniel Snyder stealing players from theNew York Jets and broadcaster John Madden getting his head stuck in a bucket. From there each cartoon gained an increasing audience. The release of "Booyah!", a cartoon parodyingESPN anchorStuart Scott ,Arizona Cardinals running back Emmitt Smith andOakland Raiders ownerAl Davis saw the numbers of visitors increase significantly.The site's popularity increased significantly in December of 2003 with the release of "
Michael Vick Takes A Crap" (viewable at [http://www.bangcartoon.com/2003/vicktv.htm] ), parodying the seemingly endless praising of Vick byMike Patrick ,Paul Maguire , andJoe Theismann during a Sunday night game onESPN against theCarolina Panthers . Traffic to the site overwhelmed its servers and Tayman was forced to search for a new server.Fact|date=February 2008Tayman was contacted by Eric Leichter, an owner and administrator of
Extremeskins , aWashington Redskins fan site. Leichter offered to host the cartoons on Extremeskins. Tayman agreed and it became Bang Cartoon's new host. It remained there until the summer of 2005 when it was removed fromExtremeskins after theWashington Redskins purchased the site and determined that, due to the scornful nature of some of the cartoons, it not be officially connected with Bang Cartoon. Bang Cartoon then became exclusively featured on its own domain where it remains to date.A new
website and forum were introduced in early 2006 and the website's content was expanded in August of 2006. The site now also covers music, movies and politics through columns e-mailed to the site.Development
In April 2004 Bang Cartoon released "Going Poston", a cartoon about sports agents
Carl and Kevin Poston and their client, then NFL rookieKellen Winslow II . The cartoon was a satirical look at the upcoming contract negotiations between the Postons and theCleveland Browns . The following Sunday,ESPN used the cartoon on their programOutside the Lines in a segment about the Postons."Outside the Lines" ESPN television program May, 2004] In the segment they showed the cartoon to one of the Postons, who laughed at it, and called it "unfortunate".Later in the program, sports agent and formerNBA starLen Elmore said the cartoon was "disgusting" and carried "racial overtones", due to the accents and attitudes of the characters.From there a small storm began in which the accusations of racism surfaced. [citeweb|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/937107751.html?dids=937107751:937107751&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+3%2C+2005&author=RYAN+BASEN&pub=The+Sun&desc=With+his+Bang!+Cartoon+parodies+of+NFL+story+lines%2C+John+Tayman+of+Lusby+turns+heads+of+players%2C+fans+%3B+Drawing+attention|title="Drawing Attention"|author=Ryan Basen |publisher="Baltimore Sun "|date=December 3, 2005|accessdate=2008-02-28] It culminated when Tayman appeared on sports radio inCleveland to answer growing questions as to the motives behind the characterization. [The Greg-O Show on WBZX, Columbus Ohio, Jan. 15, 2006.]Controversy
Many fans believe that the cartoons express Tayman’s hatred for the
NFL . Tayman has received a large amount ofhate mail as a result.Fact|date=February 2008Other cartoons have caused controversy, although not in the same way. A cartoon with
Benjamin Franklin showing a young Eagles fan called Tommy ask why all sports teams fromPhiladelphia lose, raised a lot of hackles in that city. Criticism fromPhiladelphia fans poured in, complete with physical threats.Fact|date=February 2008 When Tayman released "Child's Play", another cartoon about thePhiladelphia Eagles and their problems withTerrell Owens , it set records for traffic and within a day had closed down another server and had to scramble for more bandwidth.Fact|date=February 2008 Eagle fans praised the cartoon. The feedback this time was decidedly positive. Philadelphia andNew Jersey are now the top traffic providing area for the website.Fact|date=February 2008Characters
Most characters are satirical portrayals of actual
NFL players, coaches and journalists. However “The Justice Guys” feature NFL players and coaches assuperhero es. Non-NFL personalities such asGeorge W Bush have also appeared. There are also a number of characters that have been created by Bang Cartoons, with news reporters Harry Sphincter and Bill Spleen and newsreader Lance Pants the most frequent of these.Other frequent characters include:
*Tiki Barber
*Bronco Billy
*Tom Brady
*Colonel Kofflin
*Bill Cowher
*Brett Favre
*Jeff Garcia
*Roger Goodell
*Adam "Pacman" Jones
*John Madden
*Matt Millen
*Terrell Owens
*Carl Poston andKevin Poston
*Drew Rosenhaus
*Paul Tagliabue
*Michael Vick
*Ricky Williams
*Kellen Winslow II
*Mike Tomlin Bang Cartoon Radio Hour
In September 2005 a
podcast series called "The Bang Cartoon Radio Hour" was introduced to the site. It features Tayman and fellow site developer Tom Lacks talking for about an hour discussing issues in theNFL . Like the cartoons they take a satirical approach to most issues. They will try to avoid analysis of games or players, believing that to be something eveyone does. Lacks often providesaudio of notable or amusing quotes from players, coaches andannouncers .Episodes are produced weekly and feature a contest called "
The Big Bang contest" ande-mail segment called "The amazing Bang cartoon e-mail of the week". The prize in the contest is always provided by sportsapparel site Banditmax.com. During the season Tayman and Lacks will make spread bets on the week's games.In May 2006, the Radio Hour was named the winner of the Podcast-O-Rama, a contest which pitted podcasts against one another in a bracket style
tournament . [ [http://www.vitalpodcasts.com/PodcastORama2006/index.cfm 2006 Podcast O Rama] ] The contest was hosted and sponsored by vitalpodcasts.com and tpsradio.net. In November 2006 aMySpace page was set up for it.Other features
With the introduction of a new website a number of other features were added.
*Meet the Mullettes asitcom about rednecks Skeeter Mullette, his wife Raylene, his brother Duane and his best friend Jim-Bob Stuckey. Tayman portrays all characters. This has now expanded into a weekly cartoon feature called "The Super Awesome Football Show".
*The Bang Music hour which showcases unsigned artists and bands which have been e-mailed to Tayman by visitors to the site.References
*"McNabb- Blue Christmas" Eagles Notes "
The Philadelphia Inquirer ", December 30, 2004SI.com "Extra Mustard" calls the Bang Cartoon "Pacman Does Dallas" a "MUST SEE" [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/extramustard/05/07/hotclicks.0507/index.html] May 2008External links
* [http://www.bangcartoon.com Bang Cartoon]
* [http://www.vitalpodcasts.com/PodcastORama2006/index.cfm 2006 Podcast O Rama]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=65183027 Tayman's MySpace Page]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=120497871 MySpace page of the Radio Hour]
* [http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=21628 The Radio Hour on Podcast Alley]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
