Simon Barnes Law
Barnes’s Law of Senescence states that a great champion cannot be loved until the peak of ability is long past. One example is the great Steve Davis at the 2010 World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
Tennis
Rod Laver = The Rocket (His ace serve)
Roscoe Tanner = The Cannonball (His ace serve, too)
Basketball
Earvin Johnson = ‘ Magic’. (Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin ‘ Magic’ Johnson was one of them)
Larry Joe Bird = Larry Legend. (Once every generation or so, a player comes along who can truly be called a superstar)
Oscar Robertson = the ‘Big O’, (He is recognized as one of the game’s most versatile players of all-time)
American Football
William Perry = The refrigerator (bulk and fridge emptying appetite)
Athletics
Paavo Nurmi = Flying Finn.
Fanny Blankers-Koen = The Flying Dutchwoman.
‘Bullet’ Bob Hayes Olympic 100m and NFL Dallas Cowboys.
Miruts Yifter = Yifter the Shifter. I once saw Miruts Yifter out kick Steve Ovett in a 5,000 metres race. I poignant moment that confirmed Yifter’s greatness, and confined Ovett to the shorter distances.
Olympic Games
Eric the Eel = Eric Moussambani (Olympic swimmer Sydney 2000)
Eddie the Eagle = Eddie Edwards
Dis-onischenko = Boris Onishchenko disgraced fencer.
Generic Nicknames
- Spud Murphy
- Chalky White
- Dusty Miller
- Knobby Clarke
