Sportsmen's nicknames
I would like to leave purely Italian topics for a moment and move away to a matter which seems compelling both for supporters and for linguists. I want to focus on sportsmen’s nicknames. I bet you know many examples of these anthroponyms, but have you ever wondered why they are created and used? It sounds sad but at the end of the day , sportsmen are often considered as a product so in terms of marketing, for an athlete is better to have a catchy nickname that draws attention and makes them memorable. On the contrary, some nicknames are devised by supporters or commentators who just wanted to express their warm feelings towards an idol. At this point, we can also mention a presence of hypocorisms which means different forms of the name, often shortened that show affection or closeness. The usage of nicknames oft en shortens the distance between the sportsman and the supporters. For example, if we say Lewy , the footballer seems to be a friend we know well, not a great, rich but...
