History FanNickname / Sports

** The Monsters of the Midway: the Chicago Bears defense, originally those of the 1940's and later revived for the 1980's. The original Monsters of the Midway were the University of Chicago Maroons, back when they played major-college football, long before the UsefulNotes/{{NCAA}} split into divisions.

* Nico Rosberg, a baby-faced driver with long, blond hair, is often referred to as "Britney". The name originated from Mark Webber during the 2006 Brazilian GP. While being the son of Keke Rosberg, Nico actually competed under the German flag (his mother's homeland) instead of the Finnish one (Hence he was never reported to have adopted the "Flying Finn" moniker below.)
* Creator/LewisHamilton is sometimes referred to as Sir Lewis (owing to his knighthood), the GOAT (for holding many all-time Formula One records - up to and including most race wins, most pole positions and most Drivers' Championship titles tied with Michael Schumacher), and Lulu (as an abbreviation of his name).

* "The Twitch Quartet" - a collective nickname for drivers Alexander Albon (Red Bull Racing, up to 2020), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Lando Norris ([=McLaren=]), and George Russell (Williams), after having showcased their prowess and candidness via Twitch, particularly in online racing games, during the Pandemic-induced 2020 pre-season break.

* "The Intimidator" - Dale Earnhardt Sr. His nickname was so famous, the UsefulNotes/MinorLeagueBaseball team he partially bought was called the Kannapolis Intimidators until 2020 (after Earnhardt's family had sold its stake in the team; the team is now the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers).

* "Wonder Boy" - Jeff Gordon, bestowed upon him by Dale Sr.

* "Fireball" - Edward Glenn Roberts, which became HarsherInHindsight when he suffered what proved to be fatal burns after his car burst into flames.[[note]]Interestingly, his nickname dated to his teens, and initially had nothing to do with his driving--it came from his fastball, as he was a promising pitcher in UsefulNotes/{{baseball}} before deciding to make racing his full-time career.[[/note]]

* "Mr. Excitement" - Jimmy Spencer, from his aggressive driving in his modified days.

* "The Biff" - Greg Biffle.

** "Rainbow Warrior" - Jeff Gordon's rainbow-clad #24 [=DuPont=] Chevrolet from 1992 to 2000.
** "Silver Bullet" - the #40 Coors Light Dodge fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing from 2001 to 2007, driven at various points by Sterling Marlin, Jamie [=McMurray=], and David Stremme.
** "Killer Bees" - any team sponsored by [=DeWalt=] Power Tools, chief among them the #17 Roush (Fenway) Racing Ford driven by Matt Kenseth from 2000 to 2009, and the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota since 2015.

* "Genie auf Rädern" (German for "Genius on Wheels"), "The Human Computer" - Walter Röhrl, 1982 [=WRC=] Champion
* "El Matador" - Carlos Sainz Sr., two-time WRC Champion and all-around Rally Legend, having also raced (and won) in the Dakar Rally.

* "Superwoman" - [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michele_Mouton Michele Mouton]], first Female Rally Driver to compete in WRC (and finished second overall in the 1982 season, losing barely to the abovementioned Röhrl). The description came personally from F1 legend UsefulNotes/NikiLauda.

* Colorado Rockies Hall of Famer Todd Helton, who spent his entire career in Colorado, is also known as "The ToddFather."

* Shohei Ohtani, the first MLB player since The Babe himself to both pitch and hit at superstar level, has become "Shotime".

** "The House of Thrills" for Forbes Field, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909-1970.

** Chauncey Billups - "Mr. Big Shot"
** Richard Hamilton - "Rip" (though that was before his professional career)
** Tayshaun Prince - "The Prince of the Palace" (they played in The Palace of Auburn Hills when Prince was with the team)

** Rasheed Wallace - "Sheed", "Guaran-Sheed", etc.
** Ben Wallace (no relation) - "Big Ben"... hey, he's the center. What do you expect? His gigantic afro probably had something to do with this, too.

** aka: "The Diesel", "Shaq-fu", "The Big Aristotle" - he also gave Tim Duncan the nickname "The Big Fundamental" and Paul Pierce the nickname "The [[PrecisionFStrike (Motherf'n)]] Truth"

** After the acquisition of Chris Paul, the Clippers themselves came to be known as "Lob City", because of the large number of alley-oops (a lob pass near the hoop to set up a dunk, usually a flashy crowd pleaser) - most of them from Chris Paul to Blake Griffin. In fact, on [[Website/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]], typing in "Lob City" redirects straight to the Clippers' page (more specifically to a section on the "Lob City" era).

* Nik Stauskas, now playing in Spain after several years as an NBA journeyman, is "Sauce Castillo". The nickname came about from a closed-captioning error--late in his rookie NBA season of 2014–15 with the Sacramento Kings, he made a three-pointer against the Sixers, and the announcer said "Stauskas hitting the three."[[note]]His last name is pronounced STOUS-kas.[[/note]] The caption showed "Sauce Castillo hit the three." It took about 10 seconds (figuratively speaking) for someone to post the error on Website/{{Twitter}} and not much more time after that for it to go viral.

** Nuggets guard Jamal Murray - "Maple [[UsefulNotes/StephenCurry Curry]]"

* Damian Lillard, longtime Trail Blazers point guard now with the Bucks, is sometimes referred to by his rapper alias, "Dame D.O.L.L.A" and moments when he has a large scoring streak late in games or hits a game-winning shot are very often called "Dame Time" by both fans and announcers. Dame has also [[ApprovalOfGod approved]] of his "Logo Lillard" moniker, given thanks to his propensity to nail shots from the half-court.

* During the 2023–24 college season, Indiana State's Robbie Avila, who's led the Sycamores to their first taste of national relevance since at least the early 2000s and arguably Larry Bird's era at ISU in the late '70s, picked up a bunch of nicknames:

** "College Jokic" – Avila's playing style is even more similar to that of Nikola Jokić.

* Another college basketball example is "Coach Cal" for the Kentucky Wildcats' John Calipari. Though he's had other coaching stops, both in college and the NBA, the "Coach Cal" name didn't really catch on until [[FanCommunityNicknames Big Blue Nation]][[labelnote:*]]the UK fanbase[[/labelnote]] got in on the act.

* Shaq's former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant has been known as "the Black Mamba"; it fell into disuse for years before its resurgence toward the end of his career. The nickname had gotten popular enough to inspire snowclones (just look at the amount of Mambas in this section), up to and including Kobe himself giving two of them (to Matt Bonner, whom he christened as the "Red Mamba", and Diana Taurasi, the "White Mamba"). The Taurasi nickname has since become an [[MemeAcknowledgment acknowledged meme]], with her being the voice and basis of White Mamba, a member of the Goon Squad in ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy''.

** ..."The Law Firm". Or, in full, "The Law Firm of Clark and Czinano".[[note]]pronounced si-NON-oh[[/note]] In 2020, Caitlin Clark arrived at Iowa as a highly touted freshman guard. She joined junior center Monika Czinano, a lightly recruited player who emerged as a starter the previous season. The nickname was coined by a [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferences Big Ten]] Network analyst but quickly picked up by Hawkeyes fans. In 2021, Iowa won the Big Ten tournament, with both being named All-Big Ten and Clark sharing national freshman of the year honors with [=UConn's=] Paige Bueckers.[[note]]pronounced "beckers"[[/note]] The next year, the Hawkeyes won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament tirles; Clark became the first woman ever to lead Division I in scoring and assists in the same season; and Czinano led the nation in field goal percentage. The Law Firm stayed together for a third season, with Czinano taking advantage of a fifth year of eligibility granted to all NCAA basketball players active in the COVID-disrupted 2020–21 season. The Hawkeyes again won the Big Ten tournament and made their first Final Four in 30 years. Clark torched South Carolina for 41 points in the semifinals, but the Hawkeyes couldn't seal the deal against LSU in the final. Clark won all national player of the year awards that season.

* Ted Williams, Hall of Fame left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, was also called Teddy Ballgame, The Kid, Thumper, and The Splendid Splinter (due to his slim frame and amazing hitting prowess) and after he retired, The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived. [[note]]Williams hit 521 home runs despite missing over 700 games due to wartime service in WWII and Korea.[[/note]]

** "Larry Nerd" – From a playing style somewhat reminiscent of Bird's (not to mention being slightly larger--6'10" to Bird's 6'9"), plus the ''very'' nerdy-looking goggles he wears on-court.

** However, the most popular one came from Matt Jones, the host of a very popular radio show on Kentucky Wildcats sports[[note]]now even better-known as a part-owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling, making him a key character in the Netflix series ''Wrestlers''[[/note]] -- "Cream Abdul-Jabbar", seeing that Avila is a white center who wears goggles.

** The new-defunct AC [=ChievoVerona=] became ''Mussi Volante'' (dialect for "Flying Donkeys"). During the era in which Chievo was stuck in Italy's lower tiers, fans of the city's historic main club, Hellas Verona, insulted Chievo fans with a chant that roughly translates to "donkeys will fly before Chievo makes it to Serie A." After Chievo made it to the top flight for the first time, its fans immediately made "Flying Donkeys" an {{appropriated appellation}}.

** ''College Jokic'' – Avila's playing style is even more similar to that of Nikola Jokić.

* Longtime Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, now with Detroit, was known as "AD" (All Day) in college. This quickly reverted to the more sensible "AP" when he reached the pros - but a lot of people inside and outside the Vikings' fanbase also referred to him as "Purple Jesus".

** Magary also calls former Jets QB Sam Darnold and current Bengals QB Joe Burrow "My son" because both look a LOT like Magary. After Burrow's rise to prominence and Darnold being considered a bust, Magary started to call him "My former son".

* Longtime New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri wore the nickname "Iceman" for a while because of his ability to consistently come through with field goals in high-pressure situations - the most famous being his performance in 2001 against the Oakland Raiders, where he [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome kicked a game-tying 45-yarder in a ''blizzard'' to send the game into overtime]], then [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome made a second field goal to send the Patriots to the next round of the playoffs.]] The Pats would go on to win that year's Super Bowl - on a game-winning kick by Vinatieri as time expired.

* The late Reggie White, a Hall of Fame defensive end with the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, was known during his tenure in the league as "The Minister of Defense" - in no small part because he was [[ReligiousBruiser actually an ordained Evangelical minister.]]

* "Gronknandez", or “the Boston TE party” - Used to refer to the tight end duo of [[TheBigGuy Rob Gronkowski]] and [[EnsembleDarkhorse Aaron Hernandez]] that broke out during the 2011 season, and completely changed the dynamic of the New England Patriots offense.

* Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, due to his status as the heir-apparent to Tom Brady as the face of the NFL as far as quarterbacks are concerned, has been given the nickname "Baby GOAT", in addition to "[[Franchise/TheMuppets Kermit]]".

* Chris Berman - "Boomer"

* Cris Collinsworth - "Collinsworthless" according to some people who don't like him.

** Funnily enough, he has also been called "Avocado" after a few young F1 fans have pretty much called him that way (probably because his surname was quite tricky to pronounce.)

** Out of them, Leclerc and Albon also got their own nicknames, respectively Sharl Legrerg (a memetic pronounciation of Leclerc's name) and Albono (which refers to Albon's Steam nickname).

* "The Intimidator" – Dale Earnhardt Sr. His nickname was so famous, the UsefulNotes/MinorLeagueBaseball team he partially bought was called the Kannapolis Intimidators until 2020 (after Earnhardt's family had sold its stake in the team; the team is now the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers).
** Dale was also frequently called The Man in Black, referring to the paint scheme typically used on his #3 car.

* "Mr. Excitement" -–Jimmy Spencer, from his aggressive driving in his modified days.

* "ComicBook/{{Superman}}" – Jimmie Johnson, one of the winningest drivers in NASCAR's modern era and tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for most Cup Series championships. Him passing Earnhardt on the all-time win list while driving a ''Superman'' paint scheme[[note]]Specifically to promote ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''; teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran a ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' paint scheme that same race.[[/note]] is what sealed the deal.

* Kenyon Martin's nickname was "K-Mart" -- it's based on the same naming scheme as "A-Rod" and Tracy [=McGrady=]'s "T-Mac" nick, but it's obviously much more amusing.

* Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard is sometimes referred to by his rapper alias, "Dame D.O.L.L.A" and moments when he has a large scoring streak late in games or hits a game-winning shot are very often called "Dame Time" by both fans and announcers. Dame has also [[ApprovalOfGod approved]] of his "Logo Lillard" moniker, given thanks to his propensity to nail shots from the half-court.

* Binary Mamba - given by Chinese fans to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for scoring 0 points in one game and 1 point on the next one.
* Lemon Pepper Lou - given to Lou Williams (and later trademarked by him) after his strip club sojourn where he claimed to have gone there for chicken wings. It helped that Magic City, the strip club in question, has a flavor named after him long before the incident.

* Pocket Rockets — the nickname given to the 2019–20 Houston Rockets for fully embracing small-ball (their starting center was 6'5" PJ Tucker and they had no one taller than 6'8" (Jeff Green) in the regular rotation) after trading 6'10" center Clint Capela late into the season.

* Late Turkish weightlifting great Naim Süleymanoğlu was "Pocket Hercules". He was all of 4'10" (1.47 m), and the heaviest weight class in which he competed was 64 kg (141 lb). Even in 2023, six years after his passing in 2017, he remains one of only seven men to have lifted three times his body weight in the clean and jerk,[[note]]in which the lifter raises the weight bar to his/her shoulders, and then lifts it overhead[[/note]] and the only one to have snatched[[note]]in which the lifter raises the bar overhead in a single uninterrupted motion[[/note]] 2.5 times his body weight.

* "Texas Terry" - Terry Labonte, because his hometown was Corpus Christi. "Iceman" was another one, for his NervesOfSteel.
* "The Closer" - Kevin Harvick, due to his ability to win races that he wasn't a threat to even win. Fuel mileage is Kevin's usual partner-in-crime when this ability kicks in.

* "The Mayor" - Jeff Burton.
* "Mr. Excitement" - Jimmy Spencer, from his aggressive driving in his modified days.
* "Rocketman" - Ryan Newman, for setting a record six poles in his rookie season and for his engineering degree from Purdue, a university famous for NASA alumni.
* "That Jones Boy" - Erik Jones, after commentator Ken Squier kept calling him that during the 2017 Southern 500.
* "ComicBook/{{Superman}}" - Jimmie Johnson, one of the winningest drivers in NASCAR's modern era and tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for most Cup Series championships. Him passing Earnhardt on the all-time win list while driving a ''Superman'' paint scheme[[note]]Specifically to promote ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''; teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran a ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' paint scheme that same race.[[/note]] is what sealed the deal.
** His consecutive championships lead to the nickname "[Number]-Time", with the number increasing with each Cup he took home. It finally settled on "Seven-Time" after he retired in 2020 with seven championships to his name.
* "The Cuban Missile" - Aric Almirola, a nickname from his college days.
* "The Rooster" - Ricky Rudd.
* "Jaws" - Darrell Waltrip, coined by Cale Yarborough for his mouthy attitude in the early 80's.
* "[=DiBurrito=]" - a memetic mangling of Matt [=DiBenedetto=]'s last name.

* "Literature/TheCatInTheHat" - Team owner Jack Roush, rarely seen without his trademark Panama hat.

* "Watermelon Man" - Creator/RossChastain, who grew up on a watermelon farm in Florida and celebrates victories by {{smashing|Watermelons}} them. His ballsy wall-riding move to get a 4th-place finish at the 2022 fall race at Martinsville to earn a spot in the championship finale was immediately dubbed the "Hail Melon" by the fans and media.

** "Wrecky Spinhouse Jr." - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
** "John Wrecks Weekly" - John Wes Townley.

* The Doctor - Valentino Rossi. He used to have other nicknames like "Rossifumi" (during his 125cc stint; named after now-late Japanese rider Norifumi Abe) and "Valentinik" (during his 250cc stint; named after Paperinik); but once he stepped up to 500cc/[=MotoGP=], he became "The Doctor".
* The Baby Alien or the Ant of Cervera - Marc Márquez.
* Super Sic - Marco Simoncelli.
* King Kenny - Not Kenny Dalglish, but Kenny Roberts Sr.
* Ago - Giacomo Agostini.

** Dent hit just 40 homers in his 12-year career, but one of them was a 3-run shot in the 7th inning over the Green Monster in the 1978 AL East one-game playoff, a game the Yankees won 5-4.
** Boone had been with the Yankees less than three months, having been traded from the Cincinnati Reds. He entered the deciding Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox as a pinch-runner and hit an 11th inning walk-off homer to win the game for the Yankees 6-5 and get them to the World Series. 15 years later, he assumed the post of team manager.

* Even ''executives'' can pick up nicknames. Branch Rickey, arguably the most influential executive in MLB history, most notably as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals[[note]]where he most notably created the modern minor-league system[[/note]] and Brooklyn Dodgers,[[note]]where he most notably signed UsefulNotes/JackieRobinson[[/note]] became "The Mahatma".

** The "Core Four" refers to four Yankees players who all signed with or were drafted by the team in the early 1990s: Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. They were pivotal in the team's most recent run of success, including four World Series championships in five years ('96, '98, '99, '00) and a fifth in 2009 - more remarkable now given the current free agency era where even one player sticking with one team for so many years is rare.

* The Athletics when they have spells of losing seasons have been known as the "Pathetics". During one such span, they posted seven consecutive last place finishes in the American League from 1915-1921, going 37-111 in 1916.

** The (in)famous late-1970's red and orange striped jerseys have gained the names "Rainbow Guts" or "Tequila Sunrise". The toned-down version from the eighties are known as the "Racing Stripes".
** Their 2000's red and black era set was known as the "Old West".

* "The Brew Crew" for the Milwaukee Brewers.

** The Chicago White Sox opened a new ballpark in 1991, giving it the same name as its predecessor: Comiskey Park. To differentiate, fans called the previous one "Old Comiskey" and the new one "New Comiskey". The ballpark has since undergone a slew of new nicknames after the naming rights were bought out by U.S. Cellular and Guaranteed Rate. Under the former, it was known as "The Cell" and the latter acquired "The Arrow" and "The G-Spot".

* "The Fortress": T-Mobile Arena, home the of the Vegas Golden Knights.

* Perhaps the single most emblematic example in sports history is Earvin "Magic" Johnson, whose nickname is far better known than his real given name.

*** The starters on the 1947–48 NCAA champions, who were also the core of the 1948 Olympic gold medalists, became the "Fabulous Five".

* Other times, teams in the midst of ''really'' bad stretches of play get less flattering nicknames. The most well-known is the first dozen or so years of the New Orleans Saints; they were so bad year in and year out fans started wearing paper bags over their heads and they became known to history as "the Ain'ts". Others include the Cincinnati "Bungles" (90's and early 2000's), the New England "Patsies" (pretty much the times before Tom Brady), the Tampa Bay "Yucs/Yuccaneers" or the slightly more vulgar "Sucks/Suckaneers" (from their inception when they lost their first 26 games ever through to the mid-90's when double-digit loss seasons were common), and the Atlanta "Falcan'ts/Failcons".

* Derek Jeter got a couple of nicknames from his postseason prowess—"Captain Clutch" and "Mr. November". The latter, a play off Reggie Jackson's "Mr. October" nickname, was first used in the wake of Jeter's walk-off homer shortly after midnight on November 1 to end Game 4 of the 2001 World Series. This was the first MLB game ever to occur in that month. (The Series wasn't originally scheduled to end in November, but was pushed back because of 9/11.)

** First, in college at West Virginia, as well as his early NBA career, he was "Zeke from Cabin Creek", Cabin Creek being his West Virginia hometown.

** The [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballPower5Conferences Michigan Wolverines']] recruiting class that entered in 1991–92 and proceeded to lead the Wolverines to two straight appearances in the title game (both losses) will forever be remembered as the "Fab Five" (not to be confused with Kentucky's "Fabulous Five", or with the [[Music/TheBeatles Fab Four]]).

** ..."The Law Firm". Or, in full, "The Law Firm of Clark and Czinano".[[note]]pronounced si-NON-oh[[/note]] In 2020, Caitlin Clark arrived at Iowa as a highly touted freshman guard. She joined junior center Monika Czinano, a lightly recruited player who emerged as a starter the previous season. The nickname was coined by a Big Ten Network analyst but quickly picked up by Hawkeyes fans. In 2021, Iowa won the Big Ten tournament, with both being named All-Big Ten and Clark sharing national freshman of the year honors with [=UConn's=] Paige Bueckers.[[note]]pronounced "beckers"[[/note]] The next year, the Hawkeyes won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament tirles; Clark became the first woman ever to lead Division I in scoring and assists in the same season; and Czinano led the nation in field goal percentage. The Law Firm stayed together for a third season, with Czinano taking advantage of a fifth year of eligibility granted to all NCAA basketball players active in the COVID-disrupted 2020–21 season. The Hawkeyes again won the Big Ten tournament and made their first Final Four in 30 years. Clark torched South Carolina for 41 points in the semifinals, but the Hawkeyes couldn't seal the deal against LSU in the final. Clark won all national player of the year awards that season.

* In recent years, the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague has become [[ScrewedByTheLawyers very protective of the trademarked name]] of its [[UsefulNotes/SuperBowl championship game]] [[note]]a Super game, usually played in a large Bowl-like stadium[[/note]]. As a result, [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope the name has become practically unmentionable on the radio or TV except in official NFL-sponsored ads or programs]]. Instead, the event is usually referred to as "The Big Game" (which can cause confusion if you're talking to a fan of the [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballPower5Conferences California Golden Bears or Stanford Cardinal]], as their annual game is known as "The Big Game").

** "The Blue" – Albertsons Stadium (Bronco Stadium behind the [[ProductPlacementName corporate naming rights]]), Boise State University. So named because of its distinctive blue playing surface.

* In recent years, the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeauge has become [[ScrewedByTheLawyers very protective of the trademarked name]] of its championship game [[note]]a Super game, usually played in a large Bowl-like stadium[[/note]]. As a result, [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope the name has become practically unmentionable on the radio or TV except in official NFL-sponsored ads or programs]]. Instead, the event is usually referred to as "The Big Game" (which can cause confusion if you're talking to a fan of the [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootballPower5Conferences California Golden Bears or Stanford Cardinal]], as their annual game is known as "The Big Game").

* "The Intimidator" – Dale Earnhardt Sr. His nickname was so famous, the minor-league baseball team he partially bought was called the Kannapolis Intimidators until 2020 (after Earnhardt's family had sold its stake in the team; the team is now the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers).

!!!New York Yankees

** The [[UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan Michigan Wolverines']] recruiting class that entered in 1991–92 and proceeded to lead the Wolverines to two straight appearances in the title game (both losses) will forever be remembered as the "Fab Five" (not to be confused with Kentucky's "Fabulous Five", or with the [[Music/TheBeatles Fab Four]]).

** The Monsters of the Midway: the Chicago Bears defense, originally those of the 1940's and later revived for the 1980's. The original Monsters of the Midway were the University of Chicago Maroons, back when they played major-college football, long before the NCAA split into divisions.

* The New York Jets have occasionally been referred to derisively as the New York ''Jest'' ever since some Jets fans were seen at a game holding up cards spelling out the team's name... incorrectly. It caught on quite easily because the Jets are generally regarded as a joke. The New York ''Mets'' are sometimes known as the "Mest" in reference to this. This has sparked a whole wave of similar derisive nicknames -- one of the most popular is the Atlanta ''Barves''.

* In recent years, the NFL has become [[ScrewedByTheLawyers very protective of the trademarked name]] of its championship game [[note]]a Super game, usually played in a large Bowl-like stadium[[/note]]. As a result, [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope the name has become practically unmentionable on the radio or TV except in official NFL-sponsored ads or programs]]. Instead, the event is usually referred to as "The Big Game" (which can cause confusion if you're talking to a fan of the California Golden Bears or Stanford Cardinal, as their annual game is known as "The Big Game").

** "The Big House" - Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor ([[UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan Michigan]])

* Rudy Gobert, a 7-1 center from France who emerged as one of the league's best rim protectors in the middle of the 2010s with the Utah Jazz (now with the Minnesota Timberwolves), is the "[[JustForPun Stifle Tower]]".