Hey, don't call me that!
What's in a nickname? It all depends on who the moniker gets hung on. The Boston Celtics' Glen "Big Baby" Davis earlier this week decided he wanted a new nickname. There's only one thing wrong with his request — you don't "ask" for nicknames. A nickname is something you "earn," often through no fault of your own, and may be the result of one unfortunate (but funny to others) incident, or by actual achievements you may even be proud of. Or you may have three older siblings bestow a nickname on you when you are a toddler, but I digress.
Some people are guaranteed to have nicknames whether they want them or not. How many people with the last name of Murphy do you know who do not answer to "Murph?" And EVERY town, no matter the size, has at least one "Bubba." I think it's a state law or something.
In rare occasions, an athlete or entertainer thinks they are such a gift to their particular field and adoring public that they nickname themselves. Deion Sanders thought so much of himself that he became "Primetime" AND "Neon Deion." And then there is entertainer Sean Combs, who not only changes his own nicknames, but informs the public when he has done so. Is he "Puffy," "Puff Daddy," "P-Diddy," or just "Diddy" this week? I don't know, I lost the memo.
Some have even gone the extra yard to make their nicknames "official," as in the case of Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad formerly-known-as-Johnson-but-now-offcially-Ochocinco, who legally adopted his nick after the literal Spanish translation of his uniform number 84.
Sometimes you can grow out of a nickname, and other times it grows with you. My two best friends back in the Midwest still call me "C.J.," but it sounds out of place when anybody else says it to me.
Anyway, the world of sports has been blessed with thousands of characters who are known just as much by their nicknames as their actual birth names. Can you name the ones here? If so, e-mail your answers to sports@tcnpress.com. I will read the e-mails in the order in which they arrive in the inbox, and the first person with a perfect score will have their name recognized in a future column as the "Master of Monikers."
1. The Rajah
2. The Hick from French Lick
3. Awesome Bill from Dawsonville
4. Night Train
5. Clyde
6. The Great White Shark
7. The Spaceman
8. The Pocket Rocket
9. Gentleman Jim
10. Le Grande Orange
Craig Purcell is sports editor for Tri-County Newspapers. Contact him at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com
