BOOM SHAKA LAKA: Have You Heard Of This Neighborhood?

Boom Shaka Laka.

It's sounds like something sports fans would hear Stuart Scott yell after a Blake Griffin dunk on ESPN's SportsCenter.

For those of us who remember the video game NBA Jam, it was one of the announcer's favorite sayings. (Fast-forward to the 2:28 mark if you watch)

But how many of us knew it was a neighborhood west of Lakewood, on the other side of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? Not me.

It's true, according to Google Maps. Alert user April Prey brought it to Patch's attention Friday.

A friend of mine sent me a screen shot of the Lakewood area via Google maps. To the west of Lakewood is the words Boom Shaka Laka. You can only see this when zoomed out a certain extent...one you zoom in it disappears. Both my boyfriend and I, on separate computers, found the same thing. I think somebody got into the Google map system...just wondering if you guys know anything.

We don't, but we had to check for ourselves. I logged onto Google Maps and entered "Lakewood, WA" in the search.

Sure enough, on the map view (not the satellite view), there it was.

Boom Shaka Laka.

It's located just outside of town, right past , and . According to the map, it's somewhere in the vicinity of Rigney Road and Marietta Street in Steilacoom.

Don't try to zoom in though. One click, and Boom Shaka Laka disappears faster than you can say, well, Boom Shaka Laka.

Thanks so much for the tip April, but your discovery has created more questions than answers. We'll ask the Patch community what it thinks.

Is Boom Shaka Laka real?

Is it a Google programmer's prank? Is Boom Shaka Laka a ritzy subdivision in the works?

Does it go back even further? Was it a rejected nickname for Washington's oldest town, and now the ghost of whomever suggested it has come back to digitally haunt us?

It sounds silly, as silly as the term, "Boom Shaka Laka."

So what do you think Patch? Can you see Boom Shaka Laka? What other unknown, basketball/video game-related neighborhoods exist around town? (Points for creativity)