People often complain that we no longer have good nicknames in sports. They’re right. Most of the time we follow a simple (and lame) formula for nicknames: First initial, hyphen, first three letters of the athlete’s last name. It’s a simple plug and play formula that works for everyone. Best part of all? It requires no creativity.
Given this information, you’ll understand why I like anyone willing to venture out of the lame nickname formula box. It’s also why I appreciate Andy Dalton’s new nickname, as bestowed by Bengals’ play-by-play man Dan Hoard.
According to Joe Reedy of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Hoard began calling the Bengals rookie quarterback the “Red Rifle” during last Thursday’s preseason game. Dalton apparently is fine with the nickname. “I’ll take it. I guess everyone is trying to find something and the red hair helps,” Dalton said.
I don’t know why everything about Dalton has to center around his red hair. Like we’ve never had a red-headed quarterback in the NFL before? And although I’m happy to have a nickname deviate from the tired formula, I must point out that calling a quarterback some sort of rifle is somewhat played out. Even Ron Jaworski and Ryan Fitzpatrick would say so.
