The UnderTommer, CartManKind, and the Rogue Dog
August 13, 1997 brought the very first broadcast of South Park... and
I was watching. I had read a press release that said this new cartoon
was supposed to push limits and break boundaries. I thought it certainly did.
During the closing credits, I was urged to "Meet the
boys online..." so I did. Comedy Central had set up this South
Park Booster Club. I signed on, and to this day I say I may not be the
Number One Fan, but I'm in the first fifty.
As more people signed on, the Booster Club digests quickly devolved
into a bunch of distasteful crap written by children. Soon, one guy started
a moderated list for more civilized folk, and most of us who went there quickly fled
the Official Comedy Central thing.
But a couple of weeks later, one "Stone Cold Joe Austin" said,
"Look what we're missing" and attached a copy of Comedy Central's
digest. It was like dumping us into a room full of little kids running
amok with weaponry.
In retaliation, I referred to his pro-wrestling-inspired nickname and,
calling myself the
UnderTommer, began
a mock rivalry. Soon, long discussion
threads became devoted to the SPWF we’d accidentally started.
The moderator decided we were off-topic and told us to “take it
outside”.
So we started a rogue list that we called-- the Rogue List. Stone Cold Joe Austin
was a force to be reckoned with, and I was his archrival The UnderTommer.
In the real WWF (if it can be called that), a faction called
the New
World Order came into being. I quickly became the New SouthPark Order.
There was also Taison Tan, who started Beef-Cake.com, the only unofficial
South Park site mentioned on-air (twice) by the show’s creators.
We also had Jeremy Cannon, who briefly maintained SPOnline.com. Jeremy
Owen built us our own webpage.
We came full circle when Comedy Central hired Stone Cold Joe Austin to moderate the
South Park Booster Club! And I remained his archrival The New SouthPark
Order.
In the meantime, while I was busy being the nSPo, I needed a team name
for a local NASCAR Fantasy League. So that’s what I used, and
I stuck with it for the next nine years. It’s also my eBay ID
and my username on various message boards.
The e-mail Rogue List died in 2000. Wrestling's nWo died in 2002. The NASCAR Fantasy
League died in 2006. But the nSPo lives on!
nSPo 4 Life!

The UnderTommer, CartManKind, and the Rogue Dog
|