A Rose By Any Other Name

Nicknames haven’t stuck with BYU football players all that well. OK, so Eldon ‘The Phantom’ Fortie has endured. And “Mad Mac” hung pretty well with Jim McMahon, though a lot of that came after his college career.
Now Cougar quarterback Max Hall is being called ‘Hollywood,’ as in “Hollywood” Max Hall.
While it has a decent ring, it doesn’t seem to have much to do with anything. Besides, the name has been used before ‘ Hollywood Henderson comes to mind.
‘Hollywood’ probably didn’t have anything to do with former Dallas Cowboys star Thomas Henderson, either.
Still, it’s doubtful ‘Hollywood’ Hall will stick. In the ’80s, one writer attempted to nickname Utah running back Eddie Johnson ‘The California Comet.’ Didn’t connect. Same with an effort to name BYU quarterback Robbie Bosco ‘The Roseville Rifle.’
Nicknames still work. LeBron ‘King’ James, for instance. Often it’s a variation on their real name, such as Deron Williams’ “D-Will” or Alex Rodriguez’s “A-Rod.” But Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and others have done just fine without a strong nickname identity.
Let’s keep it that way, unless it’s really good.