AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2009 > February > 11 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USTake 10: What’s in a name? For college football’s Class of 2009 signees, plenty
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What’s in a name? If you’re in sports, a lot actually. Some people have superstar names. Some don’t.
There’s a noticeable difference between chanting “Ko-Be” and “Stan-Ley.” If your name is Stanley, you’re just meant to be an accountant, not the league MVP. We started thinking about this phenomenon on National Signing Day.
Every media outlet - ourselves included - has examined the college football stars of tomorrow for their speed, strength and athleticism. Well, we missed one thing: Names.
There are obvious traits we at Take 10 appreciate. Names have to sound cool, which is something subjective to the listener. Alliteration helps. So do words that represent toughness like “Mack,” “Colt” or “Buzz.” And it’s important to consider names under four syllables like Peyton Manning and LeBron James.
Here are the top 10 names of National Signing Day:
10: Ronnie Wingo Jr. — The 6-foot-3 athlete from St. Louis landed on the Arkansas roster playing for “He Who Shall Not Be Named.” If the football career doesn’t work out, we’re certain Wingo’s got a future in the Old West. It’s not the same as Johnny Ringo, but close enough to give us found memories of “Tombstone.”
9: Aaron Arterburn — We have two requests for Aaron: Switch the first “R” to and “F” and then suddenly develop a 4.3 40 time. Aaron Afterburn would be one of the best names in sports. Even ESPN wants the change.
8: Manti Te’o — Granted, Hawaiian names always seem cool. For all we know Te’o could be the “Smith” of Hawaii, but the future Golden Domer will certainly be unique walking the streets of South Bend. Plus, his first name leads to great headlines like “Irish get their Man-ti.”
7: Philip Lutzenkirchen — You’d think by looking at the Lassiter tight end’s name that he was a vicious defensive player, terrorizing opposing quarterbacks and destroying small villages in his wake. No, he’s just a 1,000-yard receiver who spends about as much time in a three-point stance as Lane Kiffin apparently does reading the NCAA recruiting guidelines.
6: Shavodrick Beaver — Why Oregon State didn’t recruit the dual-threat quarterback from Wichita Falls, Tex., we’ll never know. The four-star prospect ended up at Tulsa instead, but Shavodrick Golden Hurricane works just as well we think.
5: Vontaze Burfict — When a player’s name can be used as a verb, they get bonus points. Burfict signed with Arizona State, meaning the Sun Devils can “Von-taze” opposing quarterbacks next season. You’ve now, in fact, have been officially “Von-tazed.” It’s like the ShamWow, just on a football field.
4: Xavier Su’a-Filo — We could say the same thing here we said about Te’o. Xavier is a great name in any sport, and we’ll enjoy seeing Su’a-Filo on the back of a UCLA uniform.
3: Colton Nash — Another Arkansas signee makes our list. We like the 6-foot-7 defensive end because his name could double for that of a Texas Ranger, and with only three syllables, it’s easy to cheer in the fourth quarter. If the Ranger thing doesn’t work out, “Colton Nash: Attorney at Law” has a nice ring to it.
2: Rico Mack — The North Cobb wide receiver has everything you need in a name. A great first name, powerful last name and he falls under the four-syllable rule. He’ll be catching balls for Valdosta State next fall.
1: Barkevious Mingo — LSU signed a champion of a name. This man was meant to be a linebacker. Have you ever doubted that Dick Butkus was meant to be a warrior of a man? We didn’t think so. We feel the same way about Mingo.
Go on. Take Ten. What are some of the best names in sports? Do you approve of our list or did we miss a player? Tell us what you think.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Take Ten
Comments
By Legend
February 11, 2009 3:32 PM | Link to this
Brilliant!
By birdofafeather
February 11, 2009 7:14 PM | Link to this
come on now you gonna leave off cody getz…… im old enough to remember the pest control slogan “getz gets um’” and this getz certainly has too!!!!!
By makani
February 11, 2009 7:32 PM | Link to this
Te’o is a Samoan last name.
By Vince
February 11, 2009 7:34 PM | Link to this
Boy, you guys really have nothing to do! What a waste of cyber space.
By D
February 11, 2009 7:47 PM | Link to this
Can you say, “SHANE FALCO?”
By TrojanDude
February 11, 2009 8:20 PM | Link to this
I do feel sympathy for you guys. I can not imagine how difficult it must be to keep up the old foosball Rah-Rah. Take the next week off and OD on The WaterBoy. Go fishin’. Go hog huntin’. Tell you Boss(e)s you have been diagnosed with severe Heebie-Jeebies and you have to rest for two-nine weeks and you must be paid while you are off or that will cause even more stress which could lead to legal problems resulting in a heafty dollar payout by the AJC to the Heebie-Jeebieers. This would be, of course, for willfull and aggravated disregard for the medical profession as a whole. And a possible manslaughterish felony charge for wanton disregard for the well-being of employees. You can see, as in the OJ case this would be another instance of criminal proceedings followed by a nasty civil case which would of course be carried live in the boardrooms of every news organization and watched closely by all employees of those same organizations. This would, of course, virtually shut down all news coverage which could, of course, lead to federal, (Read Presidential) charges for cutting off the US government from it’s primary source of Intel. I pretty much feel just threatening them with this scenario will get you the time off you need at, probably double or triple your normal rate of pay. Trust me. You are ironmen. untouchable by management. You are invisible flak vests. You are the Steelers and you are first and goal on the 1/18th inch line against Jeff Davis County
Go for it man!!!!!!!!! or….. Not.
By hamma
February 11, 2009 8:49 PM | Link to this
Glenn, how about the b-ball game you covered last night between Redan and Stephenson. I’m pretty sure the fans would like that a whole lot better than this. Come on home team paper. This is basketball season!
By nhscuga
February 11, 2009 9:00 PM | Link to this
Rantavious Wooten and Jawanza Starling beat half of those names
By FATMAN
February 12, 2009 9:44 AM | Link to this
hamma——you are right this is basketball season.Glenn move on—come out to gwinnett and watch some good bb—-