Don’t Step on the Chalk: Nicknames

Don’t Step on the Chalk is an on and off the diamond look at Tennessee Baseball by Staff Writer and avid Baseball fan, Mark Shrum

Dare I say one of the best parts of being a fan is giving nicknames to your favorite players.

Jevon Kearse was “the Freak.” There was “Magic” Johnson, Michael “Air” Jordan aka  “his Airness,” and Wayne Gretzky was simply known as “The Great One.” Walter Peyton was “Sweetness” and we had “Iron” Mike Tyson.

Tennessee is no different, we had the “Ernie and Bernie Show,” Phillip Fulmer was known as “the Great Pumpkin” (flattering or not) and then of course we had Rick “I can’t believe we brought in another” Clausen.

Going to baseball games as a college student was always different than say football or basketball games. It wasn’t like screaming with 100,000 people trying to cause confusion for opposing teams getting plays in, or jumping up and down with Rocky Top Rowdies. Baseball always seemed to be a time when you went for the cheap hot dogs, foul balls, and trying to win the money/bingo games. However, when everyone started holding up a fake Simba when that iconic, “AAAAAHHHH ABENYAAAAA,” started. It became a whole new game. Crowd participation is key in college sports. And college is a time to be creative.

That being said. We will now go through the roster and try and spitball ideas for nicknames. I will give you the roster and spit out some ideas, but ideally you all comment or come up with your own nicknames. Then, take those ideas and turn them into clever chants or rallies. It will not only make watching more fun, but I am sure the players will love the creativity and play better.

You can find the roster here.

Here are the best ideas I have currently:

FR OF, 13- Jared Allen:  well…his name is Jared Allen, surely we can think of something clever to do with the NFL player, right.

SR LHP, 17- Josh Allman: He’s an Allman brother, simple enough.

FR 1B/OF, 23- Richard Carter: Mr. Carter, Young Carter, somewhere in here is a Little Wayne joke, perhaps they pass out those plastic fireman hats to the crowd. Fireman…haha, maybe not.

SR C, 44- Wes Walker: you could go with Wes Welker, or Wes Sky-Walker, Do Jedi mind tricks in the crowd or something.

SR 1B, 30- Davis Morgan: Capt. Morgan. The crowd stands and does the Capt. Morgan leg thing as he walks to the plate.

JR OF, 7- Chris Fritts: Putting on the Fritts

Coach- Dave Serrano: There are a plethora of options here and they all involve Major League’s Cerrano:
you know:

“You sayin’ Jesus Christ can’t hit a curveball!?”
“Jobu, Buddha, Buddha, Jobu.”

Then, if you disagree with a call, you stand up and yell…
“You have no….you have no….MARBLES! You have no marbles” (All while doing the motion)

(Confused? Watch this clip, but ideally, watch the Major League movies, at least 1 and 2)

There you go. There are a few ideas to get the ball rolling. The Vols have just begun practice, ergo we have just begun creating nicknames for the season. The Vols have some scrimmages set this weekend, and first game is Feb. 17th.

So get a pad and pencil and fire up your noggin, because this season needs to set a tone for baseball atmosphere. Much like when the Rowdies emerged for Bruce, wins help, but if the team and the fan base develop together, it can be one heckuva ride.