Thursday, February 08, 2007

What's In a Name:
What's Your Bet?

I'm as entertained by the Scott Wiese story as everyone else: He was the Bears fan who was so convinced that his team would win the Super Bowl that he vowed he would legally change his name to "Peyton Manning" if the Bears lost. Now he's a national sensation. A performance artist couldn't have pulled it off any more effectively.

Here's the question/topic for discussion: I'm not going to ask if there's an athlete you'd change your entire legal name for, but do you have a favorite athlete who you would consider naming your kid after? (For the sake of argument, let's say your partner defers to your decision.) Or, more interestingly, have you done that for real?

This came up briefly during the old Morning Quickie chats when my wife was pregnant, because the top contender for what the kid's name would be was "Noah," after Joakim. (No, not "Joakim" itself. Thought that WOULD be kind of badass. Joakim Shanoff? Um... maybe not.)

-- D.S.

51 comments:

CMFost said...

Not a chance I would change my own name but there are a two athletes that I would consider naming my child after.

Raymond Bourque and Tedy Bruschi, since not only where/are they great players but they also played the game the right way and lead by example.

thistlewarrior said...

Some friends of mine named their first born son Peyton just 2 months ago. In fact, even if it turned out to be a girl, they were still going w/Peyton.

The Feed said...

I'd name him Mason after Anthony Mason. Sr. not Jr., as if there were a question.

Jen said...

Eddie George

Now that I think about it, I'd definitely name a pet after an athlete, but I'm not sure about a child. I always wanted a Rottweiler named Justice.

Any other male pet would be named Omar, after Omar Vizquel.

Ok, so I got off-topic a bit...no one will probably see it since it won't get posted for a while!

Corey said...

My wife (not me, a lifelong Cowboys fan) wants to name our next boy Emmitt.

Of course any blatant name-giving is nothing compared to the majesty of Seven Costanza.

Aitch said...

I second the Ray Bourque comment. Also wouldn't mind naming a child Cameron for my boy Cam Neely. Girls names would be a bit trickier.

My cousin named his first born son Brady. Yes, we're a sports obsessed family.

Brian in Oxford said...

I just saw where Peyton was one of those unisex names, anyways...

I had a co-worker who gave her son the middle name Hamilton, since he was born the weekend that UConn was in the final four back in '99. (I still think El Amin would have been cooler.)

I wouldn't want to name a kid after an athlete who I didn't at least know personally. Imagine if some day we find out Tedy Bruschi's strung out on amphetamines, and you've got your kid named after him. Oh wait, that's a good workaround on the Ted Johnson thing, huh?

As for the Anthony Mason Jr. thing, I tricked a friend of mine by seeing if he could guess Robert Downey Jr.'s father's name. He thought maybe Morton Downey Jr. (ugh)

Natsfan74 said...

I always thought the name "Michael Jordan" would work well for a first and middle -- if only to frustrate my wife. Recently, I have switched to calling our future born athletic prodigy Michael Tyson....

I do have a dog named Cubby, so anything is possible!

bizzo5000 said...

Would it be wrong if I called my kid "Ron Mexico"?

Aitch said...

"Ocho Cinco Rosee, regardless of the sex."

I like it. Strong, yet feminine. haha

Big D said...

"Noah Shanoff"... Dan, speaking as a fellow member of the tribe, I don't think I could concoct a more Jewish-sounding name than "Noah Shanoff" without including some variation on "Weis-", "Gold-" or "-stein"... Kudos on sticking with "Gabe".

As for naming of my own future children and/or pets, I've always wanted to have a badass dog named Takeo, after Takeo Spikes. Mostly because of the meaning of the name ("Little Warrior" in Japanese), but partly because it just sounds cool.

And as a Boston fan, there's plenty of ways to go with this... Brady or Tom, Bill, Tedy, Manny, Curt, David, Larry, Paul or Pierce, Kevin, Bob, Bobby, Raymond, Cam, Ted, Johnny. There's probably about seventy-five decent ways to name your kid after your favorite player up here.

Unless, of course, you have a girl. Then you're screwed.

J Fitty said...

I thought about adding Gilbert to the mix of boy names for our baby due in 3 weeks. Just didn't feel like confusing that process any more by adding another name to the mix.

Brian in Oxford said...

Nomar Goldstein...

Anyways, how many seven year old kids in New England are getting ridiculed for being named Nomar now? A little parental, prenatal (anagrams) foresight helps.

J Fitty said...

And Mason was in the mix for a while...for George Mason (in my hometown and where I spent my freshman year).

B. Viddy said...

Being Broncos fan, I'm calling Elway or Champ...of course then he would end up being an over the top sportscaster that would have hidden feelings for Ron Burgundy. And that would be bad.

The Big Picture said...

I get excited everytime i hear the name JamesOn Curry.

MoonHopper said...

Without hesitation, I'd name a kid Joe Montana.

Matt T said...

When I get a dog, I'm going to go with something UGA related.

If its a girl, Bailey for Boss and Champ

Guys names: Russell, Walker, Baxter (street in Athens) etc.

For a kid, who knows.

Brian in Oxford said...

Speaking of Anna, she was the centerfold in the first Playboy I ever bought, and I successfully passed the blink test with my dad that it was because there was an interview with Michael Jordan in it. Back when she was just Vickie Smith.

BLUE said...

I thought about naming my dog Champ. After Champ Bailey. Of course i thought that might be an insult though too.

Jen said...

Anna Nicole supposedly collapsed at a hotel right in the lobby.

Jen said...

big d~ I wouldn't name my kid "Manny"...I'd be afraid he'd have a brain like Manny's! Well, if he could hit like Manny, I guess it would matter.

amr said...

Minnesota, baseball family on my mom's side.

I have a 10-year-old cousin named "Kirby."

"Harmon" was on my son's short list before we settled on "Henry" which could be in part after Mr. Aaron, if I decide it was. "Johan" was on my long list, but my wife said no.

Jen said...

Another story said she was in her room...I'm with you on the suicide thing, futurelegend.

moonhopper...how could I forget Joe Montana!? That's who we always fought to be when we played football at the park.

Jen said...

A family friend has "Whitaker" for Lou Whitaker and was actually tossing around "Trammell" before choosing "Gideon" (don't think there is/was a Tiger with that name though?)

I think my next son will be Jose Mesa.

Aly said...

I always liked the sound of Shaquille McManus(yes i am one of those women who keeps their last name) though im not married yet so maybe who knows
Pedro McManus?
Shawn Kemp McManus?
Rebecca McManus?
Sheryl McManus?
i mean its endless

Unknown said...

Theodore Samuel Williams!!!!!

I had a daughter so it was a no go!

However later in life I now have a dog name Teddy Ballgame!!!

Riggs said...

"Seven."
"Seven Costanza... You're serious?"
"Yeah. It's a beautiful name for a boy or a girl. Especially a girl... Or a boy."
"I don't think so."
"What, you don't like the name?"
"It's not a name. It's a number."
"I know. It's Mickey Mantle's number. So not only is it an all-around beautiful name, it is also a living tribute."

CJ said...

My friend named his daughter Morgan Rose. He's a big Cincinnati Reds fan.

Alan said...

After my boyhood idol, (NOT the current day WWE wrestler), I would consider Bradshaw as a middle name. Jordan is so over-used, but what a great name to have as a kid.

Brian in Oxford said...

"Morgan Rose" sounds better than
"Borbon Bench"
or
"Geronimo Armbrister"

amr said...

CJ, "Morgan Rose" is fantastic.
Maybe a future daughter of mine could be "Oliva Killebrew."

I named my daughter "Cora" for non-baseball reasons, but keep hoping that someone with that for a surname will be traded to the Twins.

mupoke04 said...

I'm a life long Yankees fan and being 24, I've watched Derek Jeter since his first game in 1995 against Seattle, filling in for Tony Fernandez. Derek Jeter is, without question, my favorite athlete of all-time and that won't change.

I've considered naming my first son Jeter, but I'm still not sure if I'd do it. I can tell you that my dog's name is Jeter....

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who was born in late 1986, right after the Mets beat the Sox in the Buckner series. His parents were big Mets fans.

His middle name is Mookie.

He grew up to be a Yankees fan.

Go figure.

Brian in Oxford said...

Derek Sanderson Jeter....there in and of itself is an example of what we're talking about.

(for those who know hockey, at least...)

nep1293 said...

I plan on naming a child Thomas Brady. I'm thinking i can sneak it past the woman long enough that it'll be too late to change.

It works out ok because both me and my dad are Thomas' so it will seem as if i'm just trying to keep the name going

Grimey said...

I always thought Darren McCarty would be a cool name. He was always a bad-ass. Plus there's something about the "Mc" in the middle name that I like.

Then he went bankrupt, and I've decided to reconsider.

The Feed said...

AMR -
Maybe Joey could get a job on one of the baselines.
And you could never go wrong with JamesOn. Well played, Zach.
The other choice I've had if I have a son is to name him El Duque and then, after I've tied his right arm behind his back and taught him to pitch, somehow smuggle him into Cuba and pay for him to take a retrofitted 50's Packard on a sea cruise, end up in Nicaragua or wherever and land a multimillion contract to pitch for the Yankees.

Michael said...

Since my middle name is Clifford I wouldn't mind naming my son Joseph Clifford, which would be like naming him after Joe Montana.

Again, Why do I know these things?

WuzUpG said...

I'd like to be the first set a trend with the first name of Durant.

Travis said...

Hey Boston fans, how about Reggie?

If I were ever to name a child after a sports player some names that stand out immiediatky are..

Reggie for Reggie Lewis

Cam or Cameron for Cam Neely

Tim or Timothy for Tim Wakefield (whos prolly the last unselfish player to ever play professional sports.)

Anonymous said...

I dont know why...but I thought of Ted Theodore Logan

or

Bill S. Preston, Esquire


No athletes for me. I'd actually name my kids for mythology. I totally had Castor and Polydeuces first..then the move Face/Off made that impossible. Damnit.

dennis said...

Not likely I would ever do it, but a friend of mine named his son Tucker Bradshaw. Couldn't get the Mrs to go allow Terry so he settled for just Bradshaw and the initials TB.

Greg said...

mike t. schrank or terrell schrank both have nice rings to them...

Anonymous said...

Hibachi, My kid is going to be named Hibachi.

theFoodDude said...

kids aside, i remember reading about some town in montana that changed the name of the town to joe....thus joe, montana.

The heroin sheik said...

I have the good fortune of having the name james lamarr douglas which is also the name of james buster douglas. My freshman year of high school all the guys on our baseball team took to calling me buster. I am stuck by family tradition to naming my son James L Douglas since all the men in my family have the first name of james and a middle name beginning with L. I was thinking leroy after leroy selmon or james lswrence after lawrence wright.

solomonrex said...

I was going to go with a GREAT scandinavian HOCKEY name:

Ulf.

Just say that out loud. It's a short, masculine, monosyllabic barbaric name. What a name - after Ulf Samuelsson, of course.

But my wife has vetoed it every step of the way, so when the first dog comes, I've got a name picked out. It will have to be a German dog, though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Ulf_Samuelsson

quote:"He was known as one of NHL's most hated players, specialising in heavy body checks and agitating opponents, who largely considered him a pest."

Ah, I miss Ulf. ~sniff~

Unknown said...

My cats are named Braylon and Jalen, after Braylon Edwards and Jalen Rose, two of my favorite Michigan stars.

I'm sure I'll consider naming my child after an athlete, that is, if I ever have children!

marcomarco said...

Having the last name of Lemieux, every time I meet someone new, the guaranteed first question is always:

Any relation to Mario?

Depending on how sarcastic I feel like being that day, my answers range from:

1. Nope, and I hate hockey
2. He's my uncle, and Christmas's are fantastic
3. He's my biological father, but I haven't seen him since I was three.

That being said, my kid will Mario. So when I'm asked for any relation, I can say:

Yes, he's my son.

Jen said...

nikki~ Does your cat Braylon have a little 'tude now and talks back a lot? HAHA My toddler son has a Braylon Browns' jersey and I swear he gets a little attitude on Sundays.