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In the movie Point Break I came across the expression "Welcome to SeaWorld, kid!". What is the meaning of this SeaWorld here?

Here's some context from the movie:

"Here, put on the blindfold. I wanna see you retrieve at least two bricks off the bottom. One, two."

"I’ve been in the field for 22 years. I’ve fired my piece over 19 times in the line of duty. I got no idea what a blind man fetching bricks from the bottom of the pool has got to do with being a special agent. Added to which indignity, I have been saddled with some blue-flamer Quantico cat! Some quarterback punk! Johnny Unitas or something."

"The shit they pull, huh?"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, Angie?"

"What?"

"Here’s your guy!"

"What? Uh… Pappas. Angelo Pappas."

"Punk. Quarterback punk."

"Hm. Welcome to SeaWorld, kid."

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  • 'Over 19 times'? Why not just say 20.
    – Brady Gilg
    Jun 5 at 17:39
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    @BradyGilg, can't say specifically about this line, but probably for one of the same reasons that anyone uses the idiom "over X times". Presumably he knows his exact number was 19 at some point, and has fired at least once since then but doesn't remember exactly how many times since #19
    – Kevin
    Jun 5 at 21:03

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SeaWorld is a place where they put on shows with dolphins and/or seals and sealions. Part of the show involves getting the creatures to retrieve things thrown into the pool.

Since that is exactly what Pappas is being asked to do, he's comparing himself to those performing dolphins.

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    A useful fact is that the SeaWorld in San Diego is a famous amusement park (complete with dolphins and orcas fetching things from the bottoms of pools), located about a 90 minute drive south of Los Angeles, where Angelo Pappas and Quarterback Punk meet. Lots of advertising for the park in the LA area, which makes Pappas's reference a sensible one.
    – Sotto Voce
    Jun 3 at 19:04
  • Is Quarterback Punk also some kind of a reference, or it's just a derogative term?
    – JConstantine
    Jun 4 at 13:08
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    P.S. The way he said it in the movie reminded me of the famous James Bond's introduction: "Bond. James Bond."
    – JConstantine
    Jun 4 at 13:14
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    @JConstantine "Quarterback" refers to a key position in American football, adding punk to it makes it derogatory. That phrase is pretty much interchangeable with "dumb jock" (or perhaps "Jerk Jock"?). Dumb jock is more common but it appears to just mean someone who is not so smart, instead of just an a-hole
    – Cave Johnson
    Jun 4 at 17:49
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    @JConstantine when I wrote my comment, I couldn't remember the correct name of Reeve's character (Johnny Utah), so I simply used the humorous/sarcastic name he gave in the dialogue from the question.
    – Sotto Voce
    Jun 4 at 18:28

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