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 often 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 inapproachable Robert Lewandowski. On the other hand, you can notice that many nicknames just highlight sportsmen’s “majesty” or even connote some intimidation. For instance, in boxing, we can notice a presence of nicknames aiming to frighten the opponent but also ones that connote some kind of subtlety and art of dancing (Herbie Hide The Dancing Destroyer).

Nicknames often have an economical form. It’s much easier and faster to use a shortened form, especially during emotional games commenting. Some nicknames are formed on the basis of a name while others of surname. We can also spot nicknames whose meaning isn’t clear or derives from anecdotes while others are explicit like in the case of Muhammad Ali called The Greatest. As for this, we can spot great admiration for the boxer.

Numerous nicknames are related to animals, characters from books, movies, or tales. In all these cases the nickname’s creator spotted a connection (physical appearance or capacities) between the character and the athlete. The results are often amusing or a little bit strange – take a peek at Filippo Inzaghi’s nickname - Velociraptor that connotes the speed of footballer.

To conclude, take a look at some nicknames of Italian athletes: 

·        Gigi - hypocorism of Gianluigi Buffon

·        Furia – (Fury) ­- Giuseppe Furino

·        Fantantonio – (Fantastic + Antonio) - Antonio Cassano

·        Big Mac – Massimo Maccarone

·        Maestro – (Master) - Andrea Pirlo 

I think we can all agree that nicknames’ creators are imaginative and have a sense of humour. Has anyone ever given you an amusing name/nickname?