The Cincinnati Bengals have a receiver that used to be named Chad Johnson. He is #85 and last year legally changed his last name to his nickname “Ochocinco.”
How lame is that? My problem isn’t with nicknames; it a part of sports, but legally having your name changed seems kind of desperate. George Herman Ruth kept his name despite his wildly popular nickname. So did Ervin Johnson. It seems a bit disrespectful too. How do you tell your dad that you’re ditching his name for some digits assigned to you by an equipment manager? In Spanish? (And by the way “ocho cinco” isn’t how you say “eighty-five” anyway.)
What if other athletes did that? I know that Muhammad Ali and Kareem changed their names, but at least there was some theology behind it. Mickey Siete. Reggie Cuatrocuatro. “Now batting...for the Los Angeles Dodgers...third baseman...Ron... Uno-cero” Just sounds wrong.
How about other professions? An x-ray tech could be Andy Azul and the UPS driver might be Charlie Café. I might be Dave Cordovanloafers. Maybe David Zapatoslindos.
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