What ever happened to all the great nicknames? (1 Viewer)

[Shutout]

We need to bring back great football nicknames. Whatever happened to great football nicknames, anyways?

There was a time when nicknames personified the player or illustrated their alter-ego or was synonymous with the player’s play style:

The Minister of Defense

Mean Joe Greene

Prime Time

Pacman

The Diesel

The Nigerian Nightmare

Too Tall Jones

Ironhead Heyward

The Refrigerator

The Galloping Ghost (very old school but truly iconic)

Sweetness (my personal favorite because it literally illustrated the style of the player)

And back in the day, they didn’t even limit great nicknames to individuals; entire units got in on the act:

The Steel Curtain

The Hogs

The Purple People Eaters

Monsters of the Midway

The Electric Company (probably one of the most creative ever, named for the Bills o-line that “turned the Juice (OJ Simpson) on”).

These nicknames are so creative and iconic that it is almost impossible to hear them and not stir up very vivid memories of entire teams and styles of play.

But in today’s world? These are pitiful. Every “nickname” seems to be nothing more creative or inspiring than simple initials.

SJAX,DJAX and…FJAX…-Boy, didn’t see that last one coming.

TRICH, CJ, AP, -What’s good enough for the Jacksons is good enough for the Richardsons, Johnsons, and Petersons.

AJ-What’s good enough for the Petersons is good enough for about 4 guys with the initials AJ.

Kaep, Fitz, Gronk-Heck, half of us can’t spell these long names so let’s just cut them in half.

ARod-Wow, one of our top 5 players gets nothing more than a stolen nickname from baseball…Baseball, people! We are STEALING from baseball! Baseball is now more creative than football and we must steal from it!

And when we do get “creative”?

The Muscle hamster-This one makes my 7 year old niece giggle every time I say it. Pathetic.

We have some of the greatest collective talent playing in the NFL right now. They DESERVE great nicknames. So, here’s our assignment. Create some danged good nicknames for these guys and start using the power of the Internet to get it out there.

Here’s one we could start with. I wish I had thought of it but it’s not original.

Hence forth, Doug Martin is no longer the name that makes 7 year old Abby laugh and flex, and then roll in a ball. He is now “The Dougernaut”. Comic book guys will get this immediately and its perfect. An unstoppable force of power under a helmet. The Dougernaut. Let’s go people…be the guy that penned the awesome nickname on one of your favorite players and lets put the Sesame Street era of nicknames behind us.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Honey Badger might stick.

 

[Danish Bengal]

You forgot VJAX.

 

[SugarNuts]

Black Unicorn has to count for something!

 

[BroadwayG]

Cream of Wheat?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Megatron? Which I don't really like.

 

[matttyl]

We have the lawfirm, right?

As a Skins fan I call Alfred Morris "just Alfred", or "Alf".

How about RG3? Not very creative, but that's something.

There was CJ2K, which then became cj.75k which I still laugh at.

"Ray Ray"?

T Sizzle?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Matty Ice?

 

[ducktales]

What about big ben's new nickname?

 

[BroadwayG]

Potato Sack

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Big Ben

Matty Ice

Megatron

The Law Firm

And seriously, you're complaining about Muscle Hamster while pining over Pacman and The Fridge?

Just another case of childhood nostalgia clouding your reality.

 

[BroadwayG]

Dumpster

 

[ducktales]

And seriously, you're complaining about Muscle Hamster while pining over Pacman and The Fridge?

Just another case of childhood nostalgia clouding your reality.

so you're saying, whenever we disagree with someone bring up their childhood nostalgia, rather than argue the point?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

The Sanchize?

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

Beast Mode!

And FWIW, I like Muscle Hamster a lot better than Dougernaut. That's too Megatron-ish.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Amish Rifle?

 

[BroadwayG]

peanut

 

[Dr. Octopus]

and Peterson is "ADP" not "AP" as in "All Day Peterson".

 

[skol asylum]

Legatron

Kickalicious

The Amish Rifle

 

[Leroy Hoard]

and Peterson is "ADP" not "AP" as in "All Day Peterson".

Is it ironic that ADP has the highest ADP?

 

[skol asylum]

and Peterson is "ADP" not "AP" as in "All Day Peterson".

No...should be AD only.

 

[ducktales]

and Peterson is "ADP" not "AP" as in "All Day Peterson".

Is it ironic that ADP has the highest ADP?

it is ironic that someone would use a word they don't really understand.

 

[sho nuff]

Muscle Hamster is freaking great.

 

[GregR]

Nickname fun fact of the day. Though known to the public as The Refrigerator, William Perry's nickname amongst his team was "Biscuit". Because when he first joined the team, Dan Hampton said of Perry that "he was a biscuit under 350".

 

[Leroy Hoard]

and Peterson is "ADP" not "AP" as in "All Day Peterson".

Is it ironic that ADP has the highest ADP?

it is ironic that someone would use a word they don't really understand.

Is it ironic that I asked a question and you responded as if it were a statement?

 

[fridayfrenzy]

and Peterson is "ADP" not "AP" as in "All Day Peterson".

You sir are 100% incorrect.

ADP is a stupid nickname given to him by fantasy footballers. His actual nick name from college is "AD"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isYChtpBfwc

 

[GregR]

But in todays world? These are pitiful. Every nickname seems to be nothing more creative or inspiring than simple initials.

Welcome to a social media world #140CharactersBub

 

[donkshow]

Megatron, Lawfirm, RG3, CJ2K, Matty Ice, Muscle Hamster.

Not everybody in the world has awesome nicknames, let alone nicknames alone.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

and Peterson is "ADP" not "AP" as in "All Day Peterson".

You sir are 100% incorrect.

ADP is a stupid nickname given to him by fantasy footballers. His actual nick name from college is "AD"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isYChtpBfwc

I'd say I'm more like 33.3% incorrect.

 

[Shutout]

Big Ben

Matty Ice

Megatron

The Law Firm

And seriously, you're complaining about Muscle Hamster while pining over Pacman and The Fridge?

Just another case of childhood nostalgia clouding your reality.

no, its not like that at all. Muscle Hampster makes little girls giggle (proven fact as stated above). Does nothing to describe the player.

There were reasons these other guys were called what they were. Pacman, because he ate you up in coverage. The refrigerator because hewas as big as a fridge. But what does Muscle hampster say? Even if you never saw Joe Greene play a down, when someone talks about him they always call him "mean" Joe Greene and you immediately get a very real sense of the type of player he was. When I hear Muscle Hampster I think of those little BOX car commercials with the hip hop rodents in them.

 

[Shutout]

and Peterson is "ADP" not "AP" as in "All Day Peterson".

Lots of people just say AP. Others say All-Day. I did leave it out as ADP though just to illistrate the point of how many great players have very simple and unimaginative nicknames.

 

[Shutout]

and Peterson is "ADP" not "AP" as in "All Day Peterson".

Is it ironic that ADP has the highest ADP?

no, it is foreshadowing.

 

[Xue]

Pocket Hercules.

 

[Shutout]

Beast Mode!

And FWIW, I like Muscle Hamster a lot better than Dougernaut. That's too Megatron-ish.

Dougernaut, IMO, is actually pretty awesome because it is much more like the truly great nicknames that actually describe a player to a degree. If you followed the Comics, it probably makes a lot more sense. There is a super-powered villain named the Juggernaut who wears a helmet and has super strength and runs through things, over things, pounds things. That, to me, is a cool nickname for a powerful running back. Much more so than a reference to a small animal that runs on a wheel and never gets anywhere.

 

[Shutout]

Beast Mode IS pretty cool.

So, now that we have listed a lot of the ones that actually exist we can see that very few actually do anything towards describing the player's style, demeanor, etc.

Can anyone think of some good one to give to some players.

T.Y. Hilton=Penthouse. Cause of his last name obviously, and because he can take it to the top on any play. Just whatever you think of.

 

[Xue]

Sea-Hulk.

 

[ConnSKINS26]

Alfred Morris is The Butler to tons of Skins fans.

 

[mquinnjr]

Matty Ice?

And it doesn't even hold water as a fact.

 

[Shutout]

Alfred Morris is The Butler to tons of Skins fans.

Because he "serves up TDs?"

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Big Ben

Matty Ice

Megatron

The Law Firm

And seriously, you're complaining about Muscle Hamster while pining over Pacman and The Fridge?

Just another case of childhood nostalgia clouding your reality.

no, its not like that at all. Muscle Hampster makes little girls giggle (proven fact as stated above). Does nothing to describe the player.

There were reasons these other guys were called what they were. Pacman, because he ate you up in coverage. The refrigerator because hewas as big as a fridge. But what does Muscle hampster say? Even if you never saw Joe Greene play a down, when someone talks about h

Youim they always call him "mean" Joe Greene and you immediately get a very real sense of the type of player he was. When I hear Muscle Hampster I think of those little BOX car commercials with the hip hop rodents in them.

You're both moving the goalposts and cherry picking all in one. Only a few of the nicknames you listed do what you're describing. And you're saying that Fridge counts because William Perry was big but Muscle Hamster doesn't count when it was coined because Martin was so small and cut?

Regardless, plenty of the current ones do too.

Matty Ice because he's cool under pressure.

Big Ben because he's hard to bring down.

Beast Mode because he runs like he's in ####ing beast mode

All Day because he can go alllll day, son

You're also comparing a 100+ year sample size to a 5 year sample size.

 

[zilladog]

Big BenMatty IceMegatronThe Law Firm And seriously, you're complaining about Muscle Hamster while pining over Pacman and The Fridge? Just another case of childhood nostalgia clouding your reality.

no, its not like that at all. Muscle Hampster makes little girls giggle (proven fact as stated above). Does nothing to describe the player. There were reasons these other guys were called what they were. Pacman, because he ate you up in coverage. The refrigerator because hewas as big as a fridge. But what does Muscle hampster say? Even if you never saw Joe Greene play a down, when someone talks about him they always call him "mean" Joe Greene and you immediately get a very real sense of the type of player he was. When I hear Muscle Hampster I think of those little BOX car commercials with the hip hop rodents in them.

It says he's small and powerful. Perfect. Although the Dougernaut is much preferred in my book. Big X-men nerd here. But is 2 nicknames a crime? Not in America it isn't, no sir. Just ask Purple Jesus....I mean ADP.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Alfred Morris is The Butler to tons of Skins fans.

Because he "serves up TDs?"

Batman reference.

 

[BroadwayG]

REaper

 

[Shutout]

Big Ben

Matty Ice

Megatron

The Law Firm

And seriously, you're complaining about Muscle Hamster while pining over Pacman and The Fridge?

Just another case of childhood nostalgia clouding your reality.

no, its not like that at all. Muscle Hampster makes little girls giggle (proven fact as stated above). Does nothing to describe the player.

There were reasons these other guys were called what they were. Pacman, because he ate you up in coverage. The refrigerator because hewas as big as a fridge. But what does Muscle hampster say? Even if you never saw Joe Greene play a down, when someone talks about h

Youim they always call him "mean" Joe Greene and you immediately get a very real sense of the type of player he was. When I hear Muscle Hampster I think of those little BOX car commercials with the hip hop rodents in them.

You're both moving the goalposts and cherry picking all in one. Only a few of the nicknames you listed do what you're describing. And you're saying that Fridge counts because William Perry was big but Muscle Hamster doesn't count when it was coined because Martin was so small and cut?

Regardless, plenty of the current ones do too.

Matty Ice because he's cool under pressure.

Big Ben because he's hard to bring down.

Beast Mode because he runs like he's in ####ing beast mode

All Day because he can go alllll day, son

You're also comparing a 100+ year sample size to a 5 year sample size.

Apparently you examine Hampster physiques much closer than I do. I can't ever recall a ripped and lean hampster. They are usually round and fuzzy, IIRC. The Fridge, on the other hand, was huge, like a fridge. Hard to move, like a fridge, etc, etc.

I will give you AD, Beast mOde. Those make sense. But Big ben is CLEARLY about as original as macaronni. The connection is nothing more than his name. Big Ben (the Tower) has never been storied for being hard to bring down. Maybe there is a WW II story out there about an attempt to bomb it or something but I seriously doubt that prompted someone to give the nickname. If anything, it is a reference to his height.

Aside from the Gallopng ghost, the oldest reference only dates to the 70's or so. No where near 100 years. But the point which should be obvious is there is absolutely zero imagination or descriptive creativity in these names these days. Anything beyond asking someone to use initials seems to be too much to ask.

I'm not the generation that wil be embarrased by this so to me its just fun to point out. But 30 years from now, there should be a great chuckle when some old geezer messmarizes people as he talks about the Steel Curtain, the Minister of Defense, and the Monsters of the Midway and then some slightly younger old geezer pipes up with "let me tell you about the Muscle Hampster and Arod.. What's that? No, not the baseball player."

 

[Shutout]

Alfred Morris is The Butler to tons of Skins fans.

Because he "serves up TDs?"

Batman reference.

I thought the butler's last name was pennywise or something off beat like that. But I get it..That's cool.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Alfred Morris is The Butler to tons of Skins fans.

Because he "serves up TDs?"

Batman reference.

I thought the butler's last name was pennywise or something off beat like that. But I get it..That's cool.

You're thinking about James Bond.

 

[Borden]

Just trying to come up with a list of current player nicknames:

-Megatron

-The Flyin' Hawaiian

-The Law Firm

-P2

-Shady McCoy

-Honey Badger

-SuperCam

-Sanchize

-The Butler

-Stevie Styles

-T Sizzle

-Super Mario

-All Day

-Beast Mode

-Donkey Kong Suh

-Pocket Hercules

-Matty Ice

-RG3

-Smiles Austin

-CJ2K

-Hot Rod

-Muscle Hamster

-Cadillac Williams

-Pacman Jones

-Lights Out

-Fitzmagic

-Legion of Doom (the Seahawks secondary?)

-Big Ben

-...

I think we need to fill out this list before we can discuss nicknames.

 

[Shutout]

Alfred Morris is The Butler to tons of Skins fans.

Because he "serves up TDs?"

Batman reference.

I thought the butler's last name was pennywise or something off beat like that. But I get it..That's cool.

You're thinking about James Bond.

Just looked it up..Pennyworth, not Pennywise. But still, its a cool reference. Alfred, the butler and RG3 is pretty much a super hero

 

[Shutout]

Just trying to come up with a list of current player nicknames:

-Megatron--Like it.

-The Law Firm-Its funny but does nothing to describe to someone 10 years form now the type of player. Basically just says that in the 21 century, any name more complex than Bob Jones required us to make it cute.

-Shady McCoy-Like it because it actually describes him as shifty and hard to catch, like a shadow.

-Honey Badger--whatever

-SuperCam-self-promoted but actually works.

-Sanchize-Would be realy clever if he was actually a franchise player.

-The Butler-Just learned that one. Like it.

-T Sizzle-definitely works.

-Super Mario-Would work if Mario actually played up to that level. I he produced like JPP, perfect.

-All Day-yes.

-Beast Mode-Yes

-RG3-The epitome of the problem. Our greatest players in the game are given the most uninspiringly simple names. Aaron Rodgers doesn't even get his own; its stolen from the ultra-creative world of...baseball.

-Smiles Austin-If it described any single morsel of his contributions on the field or what he brings to football, yeah. But it doesn't.

-CJ2K-Yeah, every 100 years, something happens so we made it rhyme and we loved it and now we make jokes about it...CJ.75K anyone?

-Muscle Hamster-no, no no

-Pacman Jones-yes

-Lights Out-out of the league but I liked the gimmick.

-Fitzmagic-No magic in that hat. We should call Gabbard the amazing spectacular Gab'bard...maybe that would change things.

-Legion of Doom (the Seahawks secondary?)-THought it was Legion of Boom but it works either way. Really like that one.

..

I think we need to fill out this list before we can discuss nicknames.

 

[ghostguy123]

All those "cool" nicknames mentioned are from like a 40 year span.

So now we are supposed to have the same number of cool nicknames from players that are playing right now today? Seems too forced. Nicknames just happen, you can't just sit around and think them up.

Besides, there are probably just as many or more good nicknames right NOW playing than any one given year in the past. So what's the problem?