There was Brier all over television and all over town here in Saskatoon last week, when Nova Scotia’s Mark Dacey rink defeated Alberta’s Randy Ferbey rink. The roaring game is shown to good advantage out West, where curling rinks are still the winter social centre of many towns.
The Brier is quite an event, with its four sheets of ice and innumerable sheets to the wind, courtesy of the ever-popular Brier Patch refreshment area.
While watching the final match on TV, the thought occurred that modern curling stars don’t earn clever nicknames. There hasn’t been a decent curling moniker since Ed “The Wrench” Werenich and Al “Iceman” Hackner.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
In fact, wherever you look in sports, modern nicknames are lackluster compared to those of old. Is it the fault of busy sports writers or unimaginative fans?
Ron Lancaster became “The Little General” years ago. Joe Paopao was “The Throwin’ Samoan” and Normie Kwong “The China Clipper,” in the days when race-based nicknames, if considered complimentary, could still be uttered.
The best nicknaming days of Canadian hockey also seem to be past. “The Rocket,” “The Pocket Rocket” and “The Big M” designated the skill and prowess of Maurice and Henri Richard and Frank Mahovilich. A Montreal Canadiens goalie earned one of the rare derogatory nicknames. He was known as Andre “Red Light” Racicot.
Mr. Hockey and The Great One were and are entirely fitting, if a little obvious in retrospect.
Early baseball had some great nicknames: the Sultan of Swat, (Babe Ruth) the Splendid Splinter (Ted Williams) and Hammerin’ Hank (Henry Aaron.) “Rocket” Roger Clemens earned his nickname for his fastball, but as a rookie almost 20 years ago. The best anyone can do now is Big Mac for Mark McGwire and A-Rod for Alex Rodriguez, which are more like pneumonic devices than nicknames. It’s sad.
Fans also earn nicknames but the same aged trend applies. Cheeseheads have been such for donkey’s years in Green Bay, Wisconsin and Canuckleheads have been Canuckleheads since the Vancouver team first skated the ice.
Hockey fans in general have long been known as puckheads, race fans are motorheads and Saskatchewan Roughriders fans have made the melonhead notorious.
Curling fans as a group don’t have a nickname, or at least nothing that anyone admits to. Given their penchant for pin trading, pinheads might fit, but it does have certain drawbacks. Maybe rockheads or graniteheads would be better. We’d have to ask an imaginative sports writer for a ruling.
