According to the OED, the earliest use of the phrase "in the zone," appears in a 1976 San Francisco Chronicle article in reference to a audio diary kept by tennis great Arthur Ashe:
Tennis players speak reverently of the mystical atmospheric condition known as ‘The Zone’. Passing shots chip away at the lines, first serves pop in and mistakes simply don't materialize. Arthur Ashe's experience in The Zone during his last Wimbledon championship bordered on the surreal.
Quote Investigator attributes the phrase directly to Ashe.
"I thought I was playing unconscious, but Borg beat me 6-4, 7-6 tonight, and he is in what we call the zone. (That comes originally from “twilight zone” and translates, more or less, into “another world.”) The kid has no concept of what he is doing out there—he is just swinging away and the balls are dropping in. He has no respect for anybody. Hell, he should win the whole tournament."
No matter the true etymology, I can only describe the Misfits — or, better, a solo misfit — as being in the zone tonight. His near-perfect card in round 5 and narrow win over Andy's Bitches in the final is all the evidence I need. It was a solo performance for the ages.
Special recognition is reserved for The Real Housewives of Trivia, the only team able to eke out a win. And, of course, the other seven eight teams that tried, if in vain, to topple tonight's champ. Next week, maybe.
Congratulations to both (lol) of the week's winners:
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