< Fan Nickname

Fan Nickname/Sports

Let's face it - professional sports don't have a lot of meaning if not for the fans who watch them. And those fan bases can get rather creative when it comes to naming stuff - to say nothing of the many analysts, sportswriters and color commentators, many of whom are essentially professional sports fans. So it's only appropriate that the world of sports has a wide and colorful list of nicknames.

American Football

  • Jared Lorenzen was a quarterback for the University of Kentucky who attracted a ton of nicknames when he was drafted by the New York Giants. It was really an unholy combination of the NY Media's love of nicknaming things, and the fact that he was about 80 pounds heavier than the average quarterback of his height[1]. The best of the lot? J-Load, The Battleship Lorenzen, He 8 (Ate) Me, The Round Mound of Touchdown, The Pillsbury Throwboy and The Hefty Lefty.
    • And, of course, the Round Mound is a derivative of The Round Mound of Rebound, one of many nicknames for Charles Barkley.
    • He 8 Me, meanwhile, is a reference to Rod Smart, one of the most visible stars of the short-lived XFL, whose jersey famously read "He Hate Me."
  • Quarterback Kyle Orton (currently with Dallas), was once known more for his unfortunate facial hair he sported while with Chicago than any of his on-field accomplishments, leading to the nickname "Dread Pirate Neckbeard".
  • William Perry, a.k.a. "The Fridge" or "The Refrigerator" for his large size.
  • "Broadway Joe" Namath, so-called because of his jet-setter lifestyle, highly irregular among professional athletes at the time;
  • "The Kansas Comet", Gale Sayers, a running back for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, nicknamed for his speed on the field.
  • Marion the Barbarian- Marion Barber, a running back known during his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys for his wild dreadlocks and bruising running style that made him very hard to tackle. Taken to Up to Eleven levels on plays like this.
  • Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones put up over a billion dollars to construct a new Cowboys Stadium, which he seems to treat as a favorite child. This has lead the fans and local media to refer to it as: The Boss Hog Bowl, Jerry World, "Jerry Jones' Penis", and the like.
    • Speaking of the Cowboys, their fans are known to argue with Green Bay Packers fans over which team is the true "America's Team."
      • Don't forget the Steelers!
      • And then back in the Eighties, when a disproportionate number of Cowboys were busted for possessing/using nose candy, they were known as "South America's Team".
      • Based on the shifting demographics of Texas and growing Hatedom of the Cowboys everywhere else, they're coming to be known as "Mexico's Team".
    • Poor Tony Romo is known to haters as "Tony Homo." It's also hard to imagine he didn't hear that one as a schoolyard taunt when he was a boy.
    • The three key players of the 90s era Cowboys team are collectively known as "The Triplets": Troy Aikman (QB), Michael Irvin (WR) and Emmitt Smith (RB). They also won three Super Bowls as well.
  • The Packers themselves are notable for having had players such as Johnny "Blood" Mc Nally, "Mad Dog" Douglass and Frankie "Bag O'Donuts" Winters, amongst others. They also play in a stadium, Lambeau Field, that's known as "The Frozen Tundra" and have fans who are known as "Cheeseheads."
    • The Lambeau Leap - The post-touchdown jump into the stands that had its origins in Lambeau Field.
  • The Juice
  • Cris Collinsworth - "Collinsworthless" according to some of the people who don't like him.
  • Chris Berman - "Boomer"
    • Berman is the champion of this trope. So much so that fans are pretty much tired of the schtick.
  • Former Steeler running back Jerome Bettis is nicknamed The Bus. Because the 250+-pounder dragged would-be tacklers behind him like bus passengers as he ran.
    • A handful of ex-Steelers were as well known by their nicknames as they were their real names. Anyone talking about Joseph Greene will always call him "Mean" Joe Greene.
    • Jack Lambert was occasionally referred to as Count Dracula in Cleats, due to him missing the front four teeth on his upper jaw, leaving him with only the canines on either side.
  • Denver Broncos (and former University of Georgia) running back Knowshon Moreno is referred to by detractors as "No-Show Moreno", for being both overrated and injury-prone.
  • The defensive line of the New York Jets in the early 1980s was known as "the New York Sack Exchange." Similarly, you have the 70s LA Rams and "the Fearsome Foursome", the late 90s-early 00s St. Louis Rams and "the Greatest Show on Turf", the Minnesota Vikings and the "Purple People Eaters", the Dallas Cowboys and the "Doomsday Defense", the Pittsburgh Steelers' infamous "Steel Curtain", and we could probably go on all day here. Check here for further reference.
  • "Rowdy" Roddy White of the Atlanta Falcons, inspired by famous pro wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
  • The NFL under the current commissioner is known as the "No Fun League" due to an increase in fines, limitations on celebration, etc. It's been used by current players, analysts, etc.
  • The New York Jets have occasionally been referred to derisively as the New York Jest ever since some Jets fans were seen at a game holding up cards spelling out the team's name... incorrectly. The New York Mets are sometimes known as the "Mest" in reference to this. This has sparked a whole wave of similar derisive nicknames -- one of the most popular is the Atlanta Barves.
  • Cincinnati Bengals' new quarterback Andy Dalton quickly endeared himself to the fans with his surprisingly effective play (he would lead Cincinnati to the Wild Card Round of the playoffs in what most people believed was a rebuilding year) and by about midseason had earned the nickname "The Red Rifle" for his playing prowess and bright ginger hair.[2]
  • Longtime New England Patriots and current Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri wore the nickname "Iceman" for a while because of his ability to consistently come through with field goals in high-pressure situations - the most famous being his performance in 2001 against the Oakland Raiders, where he kicked a game-tying 45-yarder in a blizzard to send the game into overtime, then made a second field goal to send the Patriots to the next round of the playoffs. The Pats would go on to win that year's Super Bowl - on a game-winning kick by Vinatieri as time expired.
  • The late Reggie White, a Hall-of-Fame defensive end, was known during his tenure in the league as "The Minister of Defense" - in no small part because he was actually an ordained Evangelical minister.
  • The New York Jets' Tim Tebow, formerly of the Denver Broncos, was a spiritual predecessor (in more ways than one) to Jeremy Lin during the 2011-2012 sports year, and became known for his uncanny ability to lead improbable game-winning drives and comebacks despite utilizing a playing style considered unorthodox and largely ineffective in the NFL.
    • His nation-sweeping popularity became known as "Tebowmania", which may have been a nod to Hulk Hogan's "Hulkamania." (Not to mention that, for better or worse, Tebow has a very All-American Face-like air about him.)
    • "Tebow Time" referred to the fourth quarter and overtime, where Tebow at times inexplicably turned into an unstoppable force despite the fact that his performances through the first three quarters were often mediocre to lackluster.
  • Randy Moss, in his younger years, was known as "Super Freak" for his...well, freakish athleticism as well as an uncanny ability to make seemingly impossible catches look easy.
  • Current Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was known as "AD" (All Day) in college. This quickly reverted to the more sensible "AP" when he reached the pros - but a lot of people inside and outside the Vikings' fanbase also referred to him as "Purple Jesus."
  • Current Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson earned the nickname "CJ 2 K" after his stellar 2009 performance where he rushed for over 2,000 yards. Of course, he hasn't come close to repeating that performance since.
  • "Sexy Rexy" for NFL quarterback Rex Grossman. Started out as a nickname given to him by his former coach Steve Spurrier when both were at the University of Florida.
    • Fans know Grossman better as "Rax Grissman", a simple corruption of his name based on some surprisingly difficult-to-explain Memetic Mutation
  • Deion Sanders was known as "Neon Deion" and "Prime Time", both referring to his flamboyant personality and his love of fame and acclaim.
  • Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson was given the handle "Megatron" by teammates. The name caught on in a big way with fans and the media.
  • Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is known as "Beast Mode", stemming from his once remarking that he'd go into "beast mode" during games.
  • The Houston Texans called their revamped defense "Bulls on Parade".
  • Patriots' coach Bill Belichick is known as "The Hoodie" due to him wearing hooded sweatshirts during games, and sometimes "Darth Hoodie" or "Emperor Belichick" due to his resemblance to Emperor Palpatine. Rival fans call him "Bill Beli-cheat" due to his involvement in the 2007 Spygate scandal, despite him constantly apologizing for it. His previous, and far less sucessful stint as coach of Cleveland left him with the moniker "Beli-choke." (A name Browns fans hang on to.)
  • The Carolina Panthers' Quarterback, Cam Newton, has accrued a startling amount of nicknames in the year he's been with the team. Among all his monikers, 2 really stand out, "Super Cam" and "Ace Boogie."


Baseball

  • For decades, the New York Yankees have been called the "Bronx Bombers".
  • "The Curse of the Bambino" has been used to refer to the Boston Red Sox' inability to win a World Series after trading Babe Ruth (the "Bambino" in question) to the aforementioned Yankees. They finally won in 2004, and again in 2007.
  • The Chicago White Sox had their own curse, the Curse of the Black Sox which dogged them from their last World Series win in 1917 all the way until they finally managed to win it in 2005, the year after the Red Sox broke their curse.
    • The most famous of the Black Sox team was "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who got his nickname from a minor league game where an equipment mix-up forced him to play barefoot.
  • The aforementioned World Series has been called the "Fall Classic", because of when it occurs (usually in October...in the fall).
  • The also aforementioned George Herman "Babe" Ruth has been called "The Babe".
    • Babe Ruth's list of nicknames is incredibly long, actually. The Great Bambino, the Sultan of Swat, the King of Crash, and literally dozens more in that fashion.
  • Another legendary baseball player, Joe DiMaggio was called "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper".
  • Alex Rodriguez, third baseman for the Yankees, has been dubbed "A-Rod"
    • This extends to other players whose last name is Rodriguez, like Francisco (K-Rod, since he's a pitcher and strikes are represented by the letter K) and Ivan (I-Rod, though "Pudge" is more common.)
      • Not just people named Rodriguez, but anyone whose last name starts with "Rod." Both Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and tennis pro Andy Roddick are also known as A-Rod (and sometimes "A-Rodg," in the case of the former). There was actually a Sports Center commercial where Roddick was upset that "A-Rod" wasn't catching on as a nickname for him in light of Rodriguez.
    • A-Rod became A-Roid after he was revealed to be on list of players that tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. A list that was supposed to be confidential.
      • He was also widely known as A-Fraud to Yankee fans (and even his teammates, according to former Yankees manager Joe Torre), due to his tendency to underperform in the postseason. Now that he's finally won a World Series with the Yankees, that nickname has fallen into disuse.
      • After leaving Seattle for $252 million from the Rangers, "Pay-Rod" was frequently used in Seattle.
  • Amongst Red Sox fans, Aaron Bleeping Boone.
    • Likewise, Bucky "fucking" Dent.
  • The St. Louis Cardinals had quite a few in first half of the 20th century, including: Enos "Country" Slaughter, "Dizzy" Dean, "Red" Shoendienst, and (most famously) Stan "The Man" Musial.
    • Oddly averted by Dizzy's younger brother, Paul Dean, who was simply Paul.
      • Nope, he was often referred to as "Daffy".
    • Ozzie Smith was sometimes known as "The Wizard."
    • At his peak, Mark McGwire was known as Big Mac.
    • In the past couple of years, Albert Pujols has been called "El Hombre," but asked people to stop using it because he claims that only Stan Musial is "The Man." The St. Louis faithful eventually settled on "The Machine", a reference to his at-times superhuman offensive production as well as his ability to uphold said production for long periods of time.
  • Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies pitching ace Roy Halladay was given the nickname "Doc Halladay" by the late Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek (after the famous Old West gunslinger Doc Holliday).
  • The Houston Astros's lack of success has led to their nickname the Lastros.
    • However in the late 90's, the duo of Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell alomg with Derrick Bell and Lance Berkman gained the named "Killer B's" after their high offense. Its also pulled out whenever the 'Stros have two or people with "B" Names.
    • The (in)famous late-1970's red and orange striped jerseys have gained the names "Rainbow Guts" or "Tequila Sunrise".
    • The Astrodome itself was called the "8th Wonder of the World" and the "House of Pain" due to it being a very large, windless pitcher's park.
  • In Chicago, it's common to refer to either the "North Siders" (Cubs) or "South Siders"(White Sox)
  • "Bosox" for the Boston Red Sox.
  • Similarly to A-Rod, Rockies outfielder and 2010 batting title winner Carlos Gonzalez is often referred to as "Cargo."
  • Daisuke "Dice-K" Matsuzaka; "Dice-K" is more or less how his first name is supposed to be pronounced.
  • "(The) WFC" enjoyed a short vogue on message boards for the Philadelphia Phillies shortly after their most recent World Series win - the acronym standing for star second baseman Chase Utley's infamous celebration parade yell of "World Fucking Champions!!"
  • All-World Yankees Closer Mariano Rivera is known as simply "Mo."
  • Longtime Yank great Lou Gehrig was known not just for his stellar play, but his unbelievable durability, garnering the nickname "The Iron Horse."
    • In a sad twist of fate, the degenerative nervous disease that eventually claimed his life became known colloquially as "Lou Gehrig's Disease." [3]
  • Several decades after Gehrig, the Baltimore Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. (no slouch of a player himself and one of the few indisputable bright spots in the Orioles' otherwise checkered baseball history) took Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak (of 2,130 games), broke it, and then pushed his own streak to Serial Escalation levels (read: 2,632 games.). He was saddled with the rather uncreative name of Iron Man...presumably because "Iron Horse" was already taken.
  • Perennial All-Star pitcher Randy Johnson was known as 'The Big Unit.' No, it's not that. Simply put, Randy himself was a big guy - he stood 6'10" and for a long time was the tallest known pitcher in league history. [4]
  • Vince Coleman's speedy baserunning led to him being called "Vincent van Go."

Basketball

  • Jesus Shuttlesworth is none other than the Boston Celtics' star Ray Allen.
  • "Pistol Pete" Maravich, who got his nickname from the peculiar position he could shoot the basketball from...obviously, it was still very effective.
  • Julius Erving, a.k.a. "Doctor J".
  • After 2009's NBA playoffs and the hype surrounding it, LeBronze James (James' team didn't make it to the finals). Also LeBrick James, Lebron Lames, etc. He's probably best known as "King James", though. That, or LBJ. Detractors tend to refer to him as "King Crab" after his infamous "crab dribble" incident. Or "Queen James". His "Chosen One" nick has also caused people to call him "the Chokin' One."
    • Ever since abandoning the Cleveland Cavs to go to Miami, he's been occasionally referred to as "LeFraud Shames." And his new team, the Miami Heat, is also known as the Miami Cheat or Cheats.
  • Detroit Pistons announcer George Mason and fans are the champions of this trope. The starting 5 in the 2004 Championship season alone were:
    • Chauncey Billups - "Mr. Big Shot"
    • Richard Hamilton - "Rip" (though that was before his professional career)
    • Tayshaun Prince - "The Prince of the Palace" (they play in The Palace of Auburn Hills)
      • Also "The Long Arm of the Law", for his ridiculously awesome blocks and wingspan
      • Also "The Silent Assassin", for his incredible contributions that go generally unhyped
    • Rasheed Wallace - "Sheed", "Guaran-Sheed", etc.
    • Ben Wallace (no relation) - "Big Ben"... hey, he's the center. What do you expect? His gigantic afro probably had something to do with this, too.
    • And from the same team, Mike "The Amityville Scorer" James (so nicknamed because he's from upstate New York).
  • Michael "Air" Jordan (also "His Royal Airness", which was actually used in the movie Space Jam.)
    • Michael Jordan's former teammate, Dennis Rodman, was known as The Worm for the way he'd wriggle his way into position to get rebounds and was one of the best rebounders in league history.
  • Karl Malone was known as the Mailman, because he always delivered (except on Sundays). And he used to be an actual mailman.
  • Shaquille O'Neal, AKA: "Shaq"
    • aka: "The Diesel", "Shaq-fu", "The Big Aristotle" - he also nicknamed Tim Duncan "The Big Fundamental"
    • Shaq's also known as "The Big [Situationally Appropriate Noun]"; for instance, after signing with the Boston Celtics, "The Big Shamrock."
    • Shaq's former teammate Kobe Bryant has been known as "the Black Mamba"; it fell into disuse for years before its current resurgence.
      • At one point in the 2011-2012 season, Kobe broke his nose and was forced to play in a Rip Hamilton-style mask while it healed. This quickly gave way to him being called "The Masked Mamba"
      • Chicago Bulls Ensemble Darkhorse and perpetual bench-rider Brian Scalabrine is known as "The Man. The Myth. The Legend." and "The White Mamba," both of which are Ascended Memes as TV announcers have used them.
      • The Bulls' reserve players, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson, Taj Gibson, Omer Asik and Brian Scalabrine, are popularly known among fans as the "Bench Mob."
  • Alan Iverson has been nicknamed "the Answer." And when his career became a complete bust, this became "The Not-Answer" or "The Wrong Answer".
  • Anfernee Hardaway, a former NBA player, was nicknamed "Penny Hardaway", either because his number was 1, or because his grandmother mangled the nickname "Pretty." Many NBA fans never realized it was a nickname.
  • Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards was well known as "Agent Zero" after his jersey number - which he personally chose to mock the people who predicted that was how many minutes he would play in the NBA. After a suspension following a gun controversy, he changed his number to 9.
    • Related is Antoine Walker's appellation of "Employee Number 8." Similar in construction, but intended as an insult because Walker played like a nameless sweatshop worker.
  • Jermaine O'Neal, currently of the Boston Celtics, is well-known among fans as Jermaine "The Drain". For two reasons: one, he's a serious ballhog. Two, he's a drain on any team he plays for.
  • Tyreke "The Freak" Evans of the Sacramento Kings, because he plays like a man possessed.
  • Perhaps the single most emblematic example in sports history is Earvin "Magic" Johnson, whose nickname is far better known than his real given name
  • Chris "The Birdman" Andersen of the Denver Nuggets. He sort of propagated this one himself; it's based on a celebratory gesture he does after really good shots, dunks, or blocks. And no, it isn't that bird gesture.
  • Lamar Odom, alias the Candyman - on account of his childlike obsession with candy.
  • Blake "Superior" Griffin, a pun on his name and that of Lake Superior. His team, the Los Angeles Clippers, is occasionally called the Los Angeles Blakers, a gag on the LA's other NBA team, the Lakers.
    • His teammate Chris Paul is "CP 3"; though "3" is his jersey number, it actually originated within his family -- his father and older brother are both named Charles Paul, thus making him the third "CP."
  • Ever since being bought by Russian billionaire, Mikhail Prokorov, and temporarily ducking out of the Carmello Anthony trade market, the New Jersey Nets have occasionally been referred to as the New Jersey Nyets. This has been almost too fitting considering their abysmal performance in recent seasons.
  • The Portland Trailblazers can be called the Failblazers. An aura of Fail seems to permeate the franchise, from not drafting Jordan to having frequently injured top draft picks.
    • That last one has also spawned the Frailblazers nickname.
    • During a time the players were controversial and frequently arrested, Jailblazers.
  • Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets has been occasionally known as Chairman Yao for his dominant presence in the paint (and the fact that he hails from China and has a name that rhymes with "Mao", naturally). In the last years of his career, he was very prone to injury, leading to nicknames like "Yaouch Ming."
  • The New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin managed to amass dozens of nicknames in the wake of his out-of-nowhere star turn after he began substituting for an injured Carmelo Anthony. "Linsanity" is the most popular, and many of them follow that pattern ("Linvincible", for instance). A few of the more creative ones are "Mr. Lincredible" and "Android 17" (after his jersey number)
  • The Washington Wizards, one of the most consistently awful teams in the NBA for over a decade, are sometimes known as the Washington Generals -- after the team that plays the Harlem Globetrotters and loses pitifully every time.
  • Chris Bosh is "the Boshtrich" due to his height, skinny frame, and bizarrely avian facial features.
    • His resemblance to a Na'avi from Avatar has not escaped the fans, either.
  • Leandro Barbosa is the Brazilian Blur due to his speed.
  • Serge Ibaka's prolific blocking has led to the name "Iblocka" being used even by commentators
  • Kenyon Martin's nickname is "K-Mart" -- it's based on the same naming scheme as "A-Rod" and Tracy MacGrady's "T-Mac" nick, but it's obviously much more amusing.
  • George Gervin was "The Iceman" because he hardly ever broke a sweat while playing.
  • Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon.


Hockey

  • Hockey nicknames:
    • Maurice "Rocket" Richard.
    • Wayne Gretzky is known as the Great One.
    • Dan "Carbomb" Carcillo.
    • Denis "Savoir Faire" Savard.
    • Sidney "Sid the Kid" Crosby.
    • Bobby "the Golden Jet" Hull, which sometimes led to his son Brett being referred to as "the Golden Brett".
    • James "Optimus Reim" Reimer.
    • Roberto Luongo is nicknamed "LOLuongo" by detractors for his unfortunate habit of choking in high-pressure situations. "Luongoal" is in a similar spirit, because during these chokes he gives up ridiculous amounts of goals.
  • In Detroit, Red Wings fans had given the most hated members of the Colorado Avalanche nicknames that were really fitting during the peak of the two teams' rivalry. A favorite was Claude "Turtle" Lemieux. Plus, it was custom to extend the pronunciation of Patrick Roy's last name to Patrick WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH (not from a Red Wings-Avalanche game, but the point is made).

Soccer / Association Football

  • Duncan Disorderly, Drunken Ferguson - Scottish soccer player Duncan Ferguson.
  • "The Irons": West Ham United FC
    • Also known as "The Academy of Football", partly because many well-known players start off at West Ham (which has a good coaching regime) and then go elsewhere. An official nickname now.
  • Arsenal and Spanish soccer player Cesc Fabregas is often known as "Sex" Fabregas. It is a pun on his first name where its pronunciation is very close to pronunciation of "sex" and the fact that many people found him fairly attractive.
  • Recent Nigerian soccer players in Europe tend to be known more by name rearrangements:
    • John Michael Obi's name got mangled by his Swedish club to "Jon Mikel Obi", and now at Chelsea he is "Jon Obi Mikel", with "Mikel" on his jersey, and the name by which commentators and fans refer to him.
    • Yakubu Aiyegbeni is "Yakubu" on his Everton jersey. Also "The Yak"
    • Obinna Nsofor is "Obinna" at West Ham.
    • Other Nigerian soccer nicknames:
      • Austin Okocha: "Jay Jay Okocha", or just "Jay Jay".
      • Nwankwo Kanu: "Papillo". At one point when in bad form at Arsenal, "Wanker Kanu".
      • Goalie Vincent Enyeama: "Enyeamagnet"
      • Daniel Amokachi: "The Bull".
      • Stephen Keshi: "Big Boss".
      • Mutiu Adepoju: "The Headmaster", for his tendency to score via headers.
  • Another soccer example is the Brazilian Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima. In Brazil, his most common nickname is "Phenomenon", and at first "Ronaldinho" ("Little Ronaldo"), which was reduced to just Ronaldo due to both him getting older and the appearance of another Ronaldinho (Ronaldo Assis Moreira, also known in Brazil as "Ronaldinho Gaúcho"[5] to put the difference further). And due to both weight gain and the appearance of another famous Ronaldo (Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo), he got the name "Fat Ronaldo".
  • Brazilian soccer player Marcio Assunçao is known as "Kid Bengala" among some of Palmeiras' supporters, due to his resemblance of this popular Brazilian porn star.
  • This is VERY common with the Football/Soccer World with teams, cups and players all usually having some sort of nickname. A few examples include:
    • Manchester United - The Red Devils
    • Arsenal - The Gunners or "The Arse" (sometimes by fans, hence "Up the Arse!")
    • Newcastle - The Magpies/The Toon Army
    • UEFA Cup which is now known as the Europa League - Mickey Mouse Cup
    • Paul Gascoigne - Gazza
    • Noberto Solano - Nobby
    • Kenny Daglish - King Kenny
    • Chelsea is often derisively referred to as "Chelski," a reference to Chelsea's wealthy Russian owner, Roman Abramovich.
      • Almost every EPL club has a similarly derisive nickname; after "Chelski", the least profane one is probably "Liverpoo" for Liverpool.
    • In Brazil, many are known by their mascot (Atlético-MG is "rooster", Santos is "fish" - although the mascot is a whale), and a few by its color (Internacional is "Colorado", "red" in Spanish[6]). Corinthians is "Timão" (ship's wheel) after a wheel in its logo.
  • After the Luis Suarez racism row, Anfield, Liverpool's home ground, got the unfortunate nickname of 'Klanfield'.

Other Sports

  • The Spanish Davis Cup team is nicknamed The Invincible Armada and The Spanish Armada, the name has caught on so much that the players themselves can be seen wearing caps with the name on them. It's also more widely used to refer to the top tier Spanish tennis players.
  • Aussie this page on up with the grand list of AFL nicknames:
    • When he's not having 'you beauty!' attached to the end of his name, Alex Jesaulenko is abbreviated to a fairly standard Jezza.
    • Brendan 'Fev' Fevola
      • During his time at Carlton, 'Fevalenko' also saw some usage (Fev and Jezza both wore number 25 for Carlton).
    • Peter 'Macca' Mc Conville
    • Alex 'Marcel' Marcou
    • Phil 'Shark' Marlin
    • Ken 'Bomber' Sheldon
      • Ken's son Sam has the nickname SOKS, Son of Ken Sheldon.
    • Anthony 'Kouta' Koutoufides
    • Ricky 'Chicken Legs' Nixon
    • Stephen 'SOS' Silvagni
    • Stephen 'Sticks' Kernahan
    • Twin brothers Brad and Chris Scott aka "The Kray Brothers"
  • Men's tennis star Novak Djokovic is sometimes called "The Djoker", owed in part to his propensity to crack jokes with other players on and off the field.
  • Mixed Martial Arts: Many fighters adopt a nickname that is coined by friends, family, and trainers, but sometimes the fans themselves coin them. Examples include Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk, and Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba. Examples that are not officially adopted are often mocking names or simple abbreviations of the fighter's name. Sometimes a fighter's signature move receives a fan nickname.
    • Brock Lesnar is often called "Cock Chesnar" to mock the extremely phallic tattoo he sports on his chest.
    • "Cup" Chieck Kongo is so called due to the number of times he "cup checked" his opponent Mirko Cro Cop with illegal groin strikes.
    • Sakuraba is often called "Saku" by fans who are pressed for time.
    • Georges "Rush" St-Pierre is almost always referred to as GSP rather than by any part of his name or even his original nickname.
    • Mirko Cro Cop's infamous left high kicks are often abbreviated "LHK," which in turn has migrated onto others' use of the same technique.
      • His real name is Mirko Filipovic; the name "Cro-Cop" comes from his career as a police officer in Croatia.
    • James Thompson's tradition of charging at his opponent at the instant of the first bell is called "Gong and Dash."
    • Yoshihiro Akiyama, known for his modeling and fashionable lifestyle, is called "Sexyama" by fans. Akiyama stated that the name embarrassed him at first, but he now likes it and it has been used during pre-fight UFC introductions.
    • PRIDE English announcer Lenne Hardt was dubbed "PRIDE Crazy Lady" by Japanese fans for her outrageous announcing style.
    • The StrikeForce Women's Bantamweight champion Miesha "Takedown" Tate gained her nickname from her wrestling-based style. However, her... butt has led some fans(mostly on the Sherdog message boards) to dub her Miesha "Dat Ass" Tate.
    • Anderson Silva is "Spider" for his fandom of Spider-Man.
  • Horse racing: Churchill Downs gets referred to simply as "The Twin Spires".
  • The Kentucky Derby is "The Run For The Roses", a reference to the winner's blanket of roses, and the Belmont Stakes is "The Test of Champions", since it's a mile and a half, one of the longest thoroughbred races out there.
  • "Cuddles", or the current world cycling road race champion Cadel Evans
  • Mike Tyson was known as "Kid Dynamite" when he was an up-and-comer, due to his extreme youth (turned pro at 19) and incredible punching power (won most of his fights by first round knockout). By the time he became champion, he was mostly referred to as "Iron Mike" -- because of his astonishing perfect record and the fact that he seemed impossible to hurt.
  • Boxer Eric "Butterbean" Esch received his nickname after the crash diet he went on to make weight for a local tough man competition -- because he couldn't enter if he weighed more than 400 pounds. Despite the fact that he has clearly never dieted again since, he's now mostly known by that name.
  • Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Look at him, you'll figure it out.

General

  • "A-Train" is a popular fan-nickname in sports as well, given the level of forces involved when you have 200-300 pounds worth of almost pure muscle running around the field.
  • The King - Not Elvis Presley, but rather legendary NASCAR driver Richard Petty.
    • Golf legend Arnold Palmer was also called The King.
    • His fanbase had a fan nickname themselves, Arnie's Army.
  • "Super" Mario West of the NBA's Boston Celtics and "Super" Mario Lemieux formerly of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. Really, if there's a guy named Mario, people are going to call him "Super" sooner or later.
    • This is also the nickname of soccer player Mario Balotelli who plays for Manchester City. It actually fits well since he's Italian.
  • Another auto racing one is the tendency to refer to Dale Earnhardt Jr simply as "Junior"
    • The same thing happened with MLB All-Star Ken Griffey, Jr.
  • Oh please, Dale Jr. wouldn't even be a thing if it weren't for his daddy, Dale "The Intimidator" Earnhardt. His nickname was so famous, the minor-league baseball team he partially bought is called the Kannapolis Intimidators.
  1. ↑ At 6'4", the majority of quarterbacks weigh in somewhere between 220-235 pounds. Lorenzen tipped the scales at over three hundred, roughly equivalent to your average interior defensive lineman
  2. ↑ As of now, he's the only red-haired starting quarterback in the NFL.
  3. ↑ Its technical name is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
  4. ↑ The 'record' has since been broken by the appearance of reliever Jon Rauch, who towers at 6'11".
  5. ↑ Ronaldinho from the state of Rio Grande do Sul
  6. ↑ not the country's official language, mind you
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