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O's Millar Once Helped Launch a Nation
"Cowboy Up!" It's the phrase Kevin Millar made momentarily famous while a member of the Boston Red Sox.
(Jason Arnold - Reuters)
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"In two or three days the entire area of New England was cowboying up," Millar said. For Domecq it had meant a boon to sales, which continues today.
"When we started in '93 it was meant for young people to have something cool in the western industry," Domecq said. "It's grown a little bit mainstream because of Kevin."
Domecq's Wyoming West Designs in the late summer of 2003 reached an agreement with the Red Sox to sell official Boston "Cowboy Up" shirts. Almost the entire city of Boston embraced the motto.
"For that three-month stretch people were looking on the Internet and realizing the company existed," Millar said. "It turned into a great slogan. It makes you toughen up. You can use it in so many different situations."
The chants of "Cowboy Up" have followed Millar to the Orioles; how he earned such a reputation is part of Red Sox lore.
"It means toughness," Millar said. "When you tell someone to 'cowboy up' it's basically saying 'be tough.' "
It is rare for Millar to appear somewhere without hearing those two words. The slogan likely will always be associated with Millar and he is proud of it.
"I think it will always be there," Millar said. "If I would have said it when I was in Florida, and I probably did anyway, it wouldn't get as magnified."
Millar said that Orioles fans have approached him asking for a slogan for this year's team. But Millar said he usually just shrugs his shoulders. If there will be a slogan for the Orioles it must come naturally.
"You can't just make stuff up," Millar said. "Each team has its own personality."
