What's In A Name?

If you were sat at school and a classmate called you Little Pea, would you be offended? How about Semtex? Now that is a bit more like it. Nicknames were not always great fun back in my day at school and I suspect it is the same now, but there are some pretty cool nicknames in the world of sport.

Boxing and UFC are full of nicknames, and usually they are pretty darn cool. After all, whoever is coming up with the name dare not risk the wrath of the guy who will likely punch you if you say something offensive. The Haymaker, the Ice Man, Rampage and El Terrible are just some of the great nicknames knocking about right now which offer pretty fair reflections of what is likely to happen to the chap standing opposite him when the bell sounds.

There are of course some nicknames not exactly designed to strike fear into their opponents but are still cool nevertheless. I am particularly fond of Sid The Kid, The Professor, The Golden Boy, heck even Golden Balls is pretty cool. Those can be a touch misleading at times, but as with many nicknames, there are those that fall into the category of reflecting the personality or the looks of the sport star….none of which I would be too offended if I had been labelled any of those.

Another category and probably the most popular in most sports, are those that derive from the actual name of the athlete. It may bear no relevance to what they do on the pitch, rink or in the cage, but it is just a natural given their name. Manny Pacquiao’s nickname of Pacman is pretty cool and a good example of this. Visualising the game of Pacman does not really give much of a clue about what he actually does, but the guy is just cool and his nickname fits well.

Some are however not so lucky. Audley Harrison was nicknamed A-Force early in his career until several knockouts and embarrassing performances led to Fraudley and Audrey. Pretty unfortunate, but pretty accurate. Many others are just abbreviations which often come from teammates in training.

When I was a kid, we usually just added a ‘y’ on the end of a one-syllable name and that was about it. We were young and innocent in those days so there were no innuendos or anything, just plain and simple. The classroom was slightly different however and I was not always so fortunate. I often embraced my Spanish roots and surname, but it caused me no end of grief at times. The fact there was a popular Hispanic singer called Gloria with a similar surname at the time was simply a recipe for disaster. You can fill the gaps in yourself, but how I prayed for her record sales to plummet and peace and a normal nickname like Bobby would return.

Nowadays, I have a pretty solid set of names. Rob is the usual name and I get a combination of Bob, Bobby and Robby, and when I am really in trouble, I get Robert Christian. I am usually behind the couch or hiding under the table if anybody mentions that one. I have a couple of random ones – Ginger (I have no clue), Lobster and Bobinho, all of which I respond to. Nicknames are funny old things and fighting them never helped anybody. Like it or lump, most of them stick so just embrace them even if it is Bobby Estefan or Gloria.

Strawberry Fields

There are a number of negatives to living away from home, but the hardest and saddest thing about coming back to Leeds is forcing myself to walk past Greggs Bakery and their sausage rolls. They are immense, and anybody reading this who has yet to have one, has not lived.

Our wedding is a big motivator for me to lose weight. I was motivated last summer to do so, and I am focused on doing the same and getting in even better shape this summer. That Lockhart Boss suit has to look good. Looking in the mirror is another one. I don’t quite have that sideways view of a pregnant lady, but it could be better and after a couple of weeks training, I can see the improvements and that is a huge motivator to keep going.

Forcing myself to walk past Greggs is brutal though. Cutting out the alcohol for a few months is fine, sure I’ll treat myself occasionally, but there are some foods like these infamous sausage rolls that tempt me.

I have always enjoyed my food, but I guess unless you have those perfect genes, you have to watch what you eat more the older you get. It may be hard to believe but I was like a stick until I hit twenty years old. I would go to the gym when I was 15-16 years old and trying to lift weights, and it was so demoralising to see my little arms gain nothing. It was only when I was introduced to alcohol did I show signs of putting weight on, and then when I started cooking for myself at university did I start putting weight on. It was only a few years later did I actually learn that the ratio between the effort required for putting weight on and losing it was not equal.

Thankfully I have always liked fruit. Virtually every fruit and vegetable so that is a bonus. HJ and I have eaten a ridiculous number of mangos and strawberries in the past month. I have yet to meet somebody who has told me that they do not like strawberries….i am not even sure that person exists, but I would like to talk to them if so. Sprouts are fair enough, but strawberries? I just feel there is something clinically wrong if you do not like them.

HJ and I have committed to doing a marathon this year. The thought of that is as brutal as not eating a sausage roll from Greggs in 2011, but we will give it a shot. There are a number of fun marathons, but I’ve got my eye on Las Vegas in December – hint hint Burns. It is my birthday after all. The challenge of a marathon is huge but I am determined to do one…another motivating factor alongside the wedding to get in great shape. Then, I’ll fly back to the UK, buy 4 sausage rolls for £2 and fly back to wherever we are living.