And Manila is still “a strong paper or thin cardboard with a smooth light brown finish made from e.g. Manila hemp”.
You’ve never heard the terms “plain sheet of paper”, “plain features”, “in plain sight”, or “just plain stupid”?
Just because the term “plain manila envelope” is sometimes used does NOT translate to “manila gameplans”.
As for your contention that “sports broadcasters” (which implies common, widespread use) used “manila” to describe “plain” gameplans……you are just “plain wrong”. A quick google query asking when manila was used to describe something plain in sports shows the following:
Based on the provided search results, there is no evidence that "Manila" is used in sports to describe something plain. The term in sports historically refers to:
- The "Thrilla in Manila" (1975): Muhammad Ali's famous boxing match against Joe Frazier.
- 1913 Baseball Lingo: Mentions in from a list of pitcher terms, but it is not listed among the 18 synonyms for a pitcher.
- The word "Manila" actually refers to a type of hemp (derived from a Philippine banana plant) or the light brown paper made from it, often mistaken for "vanilla" or used for folders. The 1975 Thrilla in Manila boxing match is the most prominent sports usage.
Oxford English Dictionary +2
When you ask google when vanilla was used to describe something plain in sports, you get the following:
The term "vanilla" to describe something plain, standard, or without features in sports and general parlance originated from the characterization of vanilla ice cream as the standard, basic option, with "plain vanilla" appearing in horse-racing, such as in Collyer's Comment in the early 1930s, and becoming more common to describe, [read the full history on word histories and English Language & Usage Stack Exchange.
Key Origins:
- 1930s: Early instances of "plain vanilla" appeared in horse-racing publications like Collyer's Comment(e.g., 1931–1933) to denote something straightforward, according to word histories.
- 1940s-1970s: The phrase "plain vanilla" became more firmly established to mean conventional or standard, notes word histories.
- Context: By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, vanilla ice cream was already seen as the standard, "plain" option, setting the stage for the slang usage, notes the New York Times and a Reddit post.
In modern sports, this refers to a "vanilla" playbook or defensive scheme, meaning it is simple, basic, and lacks exotic or complex, tricky plays.
You can pretend plain gameplans were referred to as “manila” by sportscasters all you want. The facts say otherwise.