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Ocho Cinco, Styles G., Ron Mexico and Jacques Strap
So how important is legally changing your name? Is it to become the be-all of pop culture bad-assness? Who are some of sports most famous players who have changed their names? Was the overall effect positive or negative for their careers, or did it make absolutely no difference whatsoever? Making recent headlines, Tampa Bay Buccaneers DE Greg White, has officially changed his legal name to Stylez G. White, after a character in the 80’s movie, “Teen Wolf” starring Michael J. Fox. What the hell is going on in the NFL? Is this a copycat move to imitate Cincinnati Bengal’s WR Chad Johnson, who legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco earlier this year? Have these guys been playing without their helmets? Is this what happens when you have a lot of money and no common sense?
With all the ballyhoo that has been circulating around the sporting world regarding this name change, I though it would be fun to recall some of sports more notable name changes, and nicknames players have adopted, past and present.
Born: Lloyd Bernard Free | Changed to: World B. Free: Free changed his named in 1980 using a nickname given to him on the playgrounds of Brooklyn. Free played for the Philadelphia 76’ers and was one of the NBA's top scorers in the late 1970s.
Born: Walker Smith Jr. | Changed to: Sugar Ray Robinson: Robinson's changed his name after he used a fake AAU membership card, property of his friend Ray Robinson to enroll in a boxing tournament at 14. After his fighting style was later described as "sweet as sugar," the fighter stuck with the now legendary name.
Born: Edison Arantes do Nascimento | Changed to: Pelé: Pelé was most likely the greatest soccer player of all time. The nickname was given to the future soccer legend during his younger school days, and it stuck.
Born: George Herman Ruth | Changed to: Babe Ruth: "Babe" Ruth was to baseball as Jordan was to the slam-dunk. He was baseball's first great slugger and the most celebrated athlete of his time. The southpaw debuted with the Red Sox, winning 89 games in six years while setting the World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings. Also known as "The Sultan of Swat", he converted to the outfield fulltime after his sale to the Yankees in 1920 and led New York to seven American League pennants and four World Series titles. He finished with 714 home runs, leading the league 12 times, including a remarkable 60 round trippers in 1927. In early 1914, a teacher at St. Mary's brought George to the attention of Jack Dunn, owner and manager of the then minor-league Baltimore Orioles. He was signed to a contract, and when his new teammates first saw him, they nicknamed him "Jack's newest babe”.
Born: Eldrick Woods | Changed to: Tiger Woods: On his 21st birthday in 1996, he marked the occasion with a legal name change, from Eldrick to Tiger. One of the best golfers in the history of the sport. Turned Pro in 1996 and his career winnings already exceed $55 million. Tiger has won 58 tournaments, 43 of those on the PGA Tour. His titles include The Masters (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005), the PGA Championship (1999, 2000), the US Open (2000, 2002), and the British Open (2000).
As you can see some of the greatest athletes of all time are on this list. However, changing your name somehow doesn’t rank you amongst the elite just because you thought it would in some way make you God in a pair of Nikes. A perfect example of a nickname gone bad is, ex-XFL player, Rob “He Hate Me” Smart who has been waived by more teams than Sean Avery has girlfriends, and has been relegated to playing for Team Tennessee of the American Football League.
So how moronic do you have to be to change your name to grab a little spotlight? When Chad Ocho Cinco, changed his name to “eight five” its not his actual number, 85, which every ninth grade Spanish student knows translates to ochenta y cinco. Maybe the name change should have been Dos Trece, to echo the Bengals 2008-09 record. Another example is when Michael Vick became Ron Mexico for one evening and now has changed his name to Fiona for the next 18 months? Based on Oz reruns, this may not be exactly what Vick had in mind. Vick lost his Nike endorsement but hush puppies picked him right up, and rumor has it that he may have a home in Oakland when and if he returns to the NFL. What’s next? Someone changing their name to “Jacques Strap”.
6 comments from 5 users
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posted by
Btowntv007
on Dec 19, 2008 at 01:34 PM
For the record, Rod Smart didn't change his name to He Hate Me. The XFL allowed players to place whatever they wanted on thier jerseys. When he made the jump to the NFL, he went by his real name. posted by
Rickldo
on Dec 19, 2008 at 02:41 PM
Nor did George Herman Ruth legally change his name. He was just known as Babe. Still it's rather silly to change your name to a number. And its really more common than you'd think. People go to prison every day and are given new identities (CDC#s) posted by
jfrancais
on Dec 19, 2008 at 05:12 PM
It's a great marketing tool. Not too many people remember much of the XFL other than "He Hate Me" out of little Western Kentucky U. He has played more games at the professional level than he should have due to the moniker. If I get a pro contract I want "I wanna be like He" on the back of my jersey. What's going to happen should Ocho Cinco be traded to a team and is not given #85? posted by
drilnliftcrude
on Dec 21, 2008 at 09:29 AM
Johnnie Lemaster, a former Giant shortstop changed his name to Boooo for a few games back in the early 80's and most of the fans welcomed the change. A freind of mine was putting together a band and they weren't received too well at some clubs they played so they thought about changing their name to You Suck. posted by
refiguy
on Dec 21, 2008 at 05:01 PM
Jfrancis my little Spanish interpretation would tell me that ochenta cinco is 85 so he change it to the wrong name anyway...got to love our school systems. ( not you, Chad's) He should change his name to What was my name ????? Did he have more than 25 catches this year ???? Yeah maybe OCHO DROPPO posted by
jfrancais
on Dec 21, 2008 at 10:22 PM
His moniker is derived from a comment/joke he made during an interview session. He told the reporter, angrilly, that he was no longer allowed to call him Chad Johnson. Then he said "call me Ocho Cinco". When the reporter starting calling him Mr. Ocho Cinco, everyone started laughing. Now he's trying to laugh all the way to the bank but the NFL wasn't having that. It was going to cost 500k for the name change on the jerseys.
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