Crack Baby Athletic Association
Encyclopedia
"Crack Baby Athletic Association" is the fifth episode of the fifteenth season
of the American animated television series South Park
, and the 214th episode of the series overall. "Crack Baby Athletic Association" premiered in the United States
on Comedy Central
on May 25, 2011. "Crack Baby Athletic Association" was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker
, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. "Crack Baby Athletic Association" was nominated for the 2011 Emmy Award
for Outstanding Animated Program for Programming Less Than One Hour
.
about crack babies
, Kyle
goes to help volunteer at the hospital, but finds Cartman
already volunteering there. Suspicious, Kyle follows Cartman and finds that he, Craig, Clyde and Butters
have gathered together to form a new business called the "Crack Baby Athletic Association", in which they induce crack-addicted babies to fight each other for a ball filled with crack
, with the fights being broadcast on the Internet. Kyle is shocked and horrified at what Cartman has done, but Cartman convinces him it is a win-win
situation for everybody and persuades him to work for the business as its accountant. Kyle, troubled by his conscience as he becomes a version of Gordon Gekko
, repeatedly justifies himself to Stan, who just listens to him in silence.
The business quickly prospers, and the group prepares to cut a deal with EA Sports
for a video game based upon their sport. Despite Cartman insisting that they are a nonprofit organization
, Kyle tells him that he is uncomfortable with the idea of selling the babies' likenesses to EA Sports while giving them nothing, so Cartman promises to find out how "other companies get away with it". He goes to the athletic department at the University of Colorado
dressed as a Southern
slave owner
and referring to the University student athletes
as "slaves", but gets no advice on how to treat his own "slaves" from the affronted president. Kyle comes up with a plan to compensate the crack babies by spending 30% of the money from the deal on a state-of-the-art orphanage
and presents it to Cartman; much to Kyle's surprise, Cartman actually approves of the scheme, due to the public goodwill it will generate. Meanwhile, Clyde and Craig try to get in touch with the guitarist Slash
in an attempt to have him play at half-time
of an upcoming crack baby fight. However, they discover that Slash is actually a make-believe
character based on a Dutch
legend named "Vunter Slaush", and that the various incarnations of Slash they have encountered are just their parents dressed up. This explains why Slash appears to be everywhere at once, even playing a show in Moscow
and in Colorado Springs in the same afternoon.
Once the deal with EA Sports is signed, the boys learn from their contract with Peter Moore, the head of EA Sports, that his company now owns the rights to the Crack Baby Athletic Association and will keep all the revenue. Kyle is crushed over the end of his orphanage project, while Cartman and the others are mostly still in shock about the revelation that Slash does not exist. At the end of the episode, Kyle and Stan discover that the orphanage has been miraculously built. They also find a guitar and hat belonging to Slash inside. Kyle is overjoyed, and everyone's faith in Slash is restored.
gave the episode a rating of 7.0 of 10, stating that it was "an average episode -- not terribly bad, but not very good either". He criticized the show for its lack of depth regarding the controversy with the NCAA
not compensating its players.
Jason Whitlock
, a Fox Sports writer a critic of the current state of commercial college athletics and of the NCAA, called the episode "one of the most hilarious and poignant moments of television I’ve ever witnessed", commenting, "It was like The Wire
splashed with Arrested Development."
South Park (season 15)
The fifteenth season of South Park, an American animated television series, began airing on April 27, 2011 and ended on November 16, 2011. In response to reactions to the mid-season finale episode "You're Getting Old", which seemed to insinuate that creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were wrapping...
of the American animated television series South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, and the 214th episode of the series overall. "Crack Baby Athletic Association" premiered in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
on May 25, 2011. "Crack Baby Athletic Association" was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. "Crack Baby Athletic Association" was nominated for the 2011 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Animated Program for Programming Less Than One Hour
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
.
Plot
After seeing the "saddest commercial ever" presented by Sarah McLachlanSarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
about crack babies
Prenatal cocaine exposure
Prenatal cocaine exposure occurs when a pregnant woman uses cocaine and thereby exposes her fetus to the drug. Crack baby was a term coined to describe children who were exposed to crack as fetuses; the concept of the crack baby emerged in the US during the 1980s and 90s in the midst of a great...
, Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
goes to help volunteer at the hospital, but finds Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
already volunteering there. Suspicious, Kyle follows Cartman and finds that he, Craig, Clyde and Butters
Butters Stotch
Leopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough. He is a fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town...
have gathered together to form a new business called the "Crack Baby Athletic Association", in which they induce crack-addicted babies to fight each other for a ball filled with crack
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
, with the fights being broadcast on the Internet. Kyle is shocked and horrified at what Cartman has done, but Cartman convinces him it is a win-win
Win-win game
A win-win game is a game which is designed in a way that all participants can profit from it in one way or the other. In conflict resolution, a win-win strategy is a conflict resolution process that aims to accommodate all disputants.-Types:...
situation for everybody and persuades him to work for the business as its accountant. Kyle, troubled by his conscience as he becomes a version of Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko
Gordon Gekko is the main antagonist of the 1987 film Wall Street and the antihero of the 2010 film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, both by director Oliver Stone...
, repeatedly justifies himself to Stan, who just listens to him in silence.
The business quickly prospers, and the group prepares to cut a deal with EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
for a video game based upon their sport. Despite Cartman insisting that they are a nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, Kyle tells him that he is uncomfortable with the idea of selling the babies' likenesses to EA Sports while giving them nothing, so Cartman promises to find out how "other companies get away with it". He goes to the athletic department at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
dressed as a Southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
slave owner
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and referring to the University student athletes
Student athlete
A student athlete is a term used to describe a participant in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which he or she is enrolled, a term primarily used in the United States. It is used to describe the direct balance of a full-time student and a full-time athlete...
as "slaves", but gets no advice on how to treat his own "slaves" from the affronted president. Kyle comes up with a plan to compensate the crack babies by spending 30% of the money from the deal on a state-of-the-art orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
and presents it to Cartman; much to Kyle's surprise, Cartman actually approves of the scheme, due to the public goodwill it will generate. Meanwhile, Clyde and Craig try to get in touch with the guitarist Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
in an attempt to have him play at half-time
Half-time
In some team sports such as association football and rugby, matches are played in two halves. Half-time is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match...
of an upcoming crack baby fight. However, they discover that Slash is actually a make-believe
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
character based on a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
legend named "Vunter Slaush", and that the various incarnations of Slash they have encountered are just their parents dressed up. This explains why Slash appears to be everywhere at once, even playing a show in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and in Colorado Springs in the same afternoon.
Once the deal with EA Sports is signed, the boys learn from their contract with Peter Moore, the head of EA Sports, that his company now owns the rights to the Crack Baby Athletic Association and will keep all the revenue. Kyle is crushed over the end of his orphanage project, while Cartman and the others are mostly still in shock about the revelation that Slash does not exist. At the end of the episode, Kyle and Stan discover that the orphanage has been miraculously built. They also find a guitar and hat belonging to Slash inside. Kyle is overjoyed, and everyone's faith in Slash is restored.
Reception
Ramsey Isler of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode a rating of 7.0 of 10, stating that it was "an average episode -- not terribly bad, but not very good either". He criticized the show for its lack of depth regarding the controversy with the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
not compensating its players.
Jason Whitlock
Jason Whitlock
Jason Lee Whitlock is a sportswriter for Foxsports.com, as well as a former columnist at the Kansas City Star, AOL Sports writer, contributor to ESPN, and radio personality for WHB and KCSP sports stations in the Kansas City area.-College and sports:Whitlock was an all-state offensive lineman at...
, a Fox Sports writer a critic of the current state of commercial college athletics and of the NCAA, called the episode "one of the most hilarious and poignant moments of television I’ve ever witnessed", commenting, "It was like The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
splashed with Arrested Development."
External links
- "Crack Baby Athletic Association" Episode guide at South Park Studios
- "Crack Baby Athletic Association" Full episode at South Park Studios