All it takes is someone calling you something one time and it can spread like an epidemic. Many athletes are given the blessing, or the curse, of having a nickname. Every one is unique to that person and SMU’s campus contains some of the most descriptive of all.
Nicknames have long been a part of the American culture. There are times when a birth-given name can’t completely encompass who a person is. Every president in U.S. history has a calling card, including “Honest Abe” Lincoln and “Tricky Dick” Richard Nixon.
In the sports arena, there is a long list of professional athletes whose nicknames have supplanted their birth names in terms of popularity.
Everyone is familiar with “Air” Jordan, “Babe” Ruth and “The Shark” Jack Nicklaus. These names are indicative of personality traits, physical traits or both.
There are a lot of ways to get a nickname. Some are given from birth while others are gained later in life. In the world of sports, however, the methods of acquiring a new moniker are a little more defined. For instance, no athlete can respectfully name himself or herself.
“It seems more authentic when someone else gives you nickname because people see you in a different perspective than you see yourself,” “Comet” Chris Cunningham said.
Cunningham, a senior wide receiver on the football team, was given the name “Comet” by a high school teammate.
“He used to give everybody a nickname. I had it put on my letterman [jacket] and it caught on and people started calling me ‘Comet,'” Cunningham said. “I had it tattooed on me so I guess you can say I like it.”
Comet is arguably the most recognizable nickname on campus. Like his high school teammate, some people make an identity for themselves by inventing names and phrases to describe others.
SMU basketball announcer Dan Bell has been “The Voice” of SMU basketball for five years. Over the past two or three seasons, Bell has reverted to nicknames for some players.
“It really all started with Quinton Ross,” Bell said. “‘The Q,’ or just ‘Q’ because that’s what everyone called him.”
While Ross’ name is often shortened to “Q,” it is not one that captures his playing style, so it doesn’t fall in the realm of the truest sports nicknames. Since he had been referred to that way for so long, the name has stuck.
When faced with having to create a new moniker, Bell resorts to the usual unwritten rules of titling.
“[I try to think of] something hip-sounding, but not cheesy,” Bell said. “Maybe something reflective of the personality or playing style of the player.”
Bell’s list of names he refers to during the game includes “B-Hop” for freshman guard Bryan Hopkins and “The I-Man” for sophomore forward Justin Isham.
While “B-Hop” was with Hopkins before he got to the Hilltop, “The I-Man” is an original Bell creation.
Isham enjoys having the name called out whenever he makes a play on the hardwood.
“I like it because it just seems to add a little something extra,” Isham said.
In addition to reflecting personalities and playing styles, the most effective nicknames ignore birth names and initials altogether.
SMU’s soccer team boasts such short names as “Weevil” for sophomore J.D. Johnson and sophomore Ross Spencer is known as “Ox.”
While not completely sure where “Weevil” came from, Spencer describes Johnson as a small, fiesty player who can cause a lot of problems.
As for “Ox,” Spencer has no doubts about how his name came about.
“I’m not really skillful like most of the other guys,” Spencer said. “I’m like a big ox, I push people around.”
Senior golfer Brock Mulder has taken the initiative to name all of his teammates. Senior Grant “Farrellio” Farrell, one of Mulder’s teammates, thinks that the naming practice builds camaraderie within the team.
Mulder is known among his teammates as “The Bronx Bomber” (though he hails from Iowa) for being the team’s longest hitter. He has coined such names as “Mini-Me” for senior Ryan Abbate, who stands 5-feet-6-inches and “Subway” Jerad Harklau, whose name is reminiscent of the sandwich chain’s spokesperson.
The golf team uses these names as opposed to their first names when interacting with each other.
“It’s easier to call them by the nickname,” Farrell said. “It’s kind of boring to say their name all the time.”
The rules of nicknaming also regulate usage. The name may replace a first name in many respects, but the person who has the nickname should not completely adopt it, no matter how much they enjoy it.
“I don’t mind when people call me ‘Comet,’ I like it actually,” Cunningham said. “But when I introduce myself I don’t go around introducing myself as ‘Comet.'”
Bell’s situation is of a different nature. Since he is the announcer, he has to be careful with how much he uses the derived labels.
“I think if overly used, it often loses its value and people become tired of hearing it,” Bell said. “My job is to communicate to the fans in Moody what happens on the court as far as who fouled, who scored and giving them all kinds of information.”
No matter how much a creative handle is used, athletes generally try to retain as much of their real name as possible. When the nickname becomes common knowledge, it can give the athlete something to live up to and create a lot of pressure.
“The Bronx Bomber” Mulder has to continue to work hard and get better. The nature of his name hangs on the fact that, statistically, he can hit the ball farther than his teammates. If he loses that edge, then the name is devalued.
“Ox” Spencer finds that the name has a way of identifying what his job is on the field.
“[The team] wants me to be an enforcer,” Spencer said. “It defines my role.”
Cunningham, who missed all of last season with a broken foot, usually found himself on the field trying to prove why he got the name Comet. His quick moves and unworldly speed got him the name, but staying true to it has been difficult.
“I try to [live up to it], but lately I haven’t been going anywhere fast since I broke my foot,” Cunningham said.
Some groups, a team or otherwise, get collective pseudonyms. SMU’s 1982 football squad featured the “Pony Express,” a combination of offensive weapons that included running backs Eric Dickerson and Craig James behind quarterback Lance McIlhenny.
SMU’s basketball fans are commonly referred to as the “Mustang Maniacs.”
“I think it’s good to have a name because there’s one common group that all fans can feel a part of,” senior Rogers Healy said. Healy often represents the fans from a marketing prospective.
A representative from Rice University called the conference office and asked that the Maniacs be moved farther away from the visiting bench. The fans were so loud that their coach and basketball team found it unnecessary.
Neither players, coaches nor fans are completely safe from being unwillingly branded. Nicknames are born and die every day. The ones that truly define a person or an action leave the realm of entertainment and enter Americana, part of the culture of our young nation.
