Roundtable: Has 'swagger' reached its end?

**ace3g** · 11-30-2012

The year? 107 B.C.

It's hard to believe, but that's about how long ago the word "swagger" originated.

Way back then, it was used in the phrase "swagger stick," which was a vine wood staff that Roman centurions carried as a distinction of rank.

From the early 1900s all the way through the '80s, the U.S. Armed Forces had them.

But since Jay-Z first rhymed, "I guess I got my swagger back" on his 2001 track "All I Need," the word "swagger" has taken on a whole new life of its own -- without a military distinction, but with many more meanings.

After a myriad rappers started dropping "swagger" or "swag" in their songs, inevitably jocks picked it up to describe one another.

Then, even those in sports media began using the term -- surely a sign of its impending demise.

"Swagger" was initially meant to describe an authentic confidence that equates to production. Now, "swagger" seems to be used as a free-for-all expression to describe a player's personality or style of performance.

So what’s next? Will "swagger" evolve or should there be a moratorium on usage of the word?

ESPN Playbook turned to four pros from different sports who exude swagger -- San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley -- to get their take.

What we discovered is that the word could be on a downward trajectory. Swag, R.I.P.?

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/tre...eached-its-end