Jimmer: making his name last
The headlines are saying “Jimmermania engulfs Sacramento” or something similar. The Sacramento Bee is saying he can be a rock star.
There’s no getting around it, so far Jimmer Fredette has three main ingredients that can make a player into a phenomenon: the game, the name and the personality.
Two of those things aren’t going to change. His name will stay, as will his humble hometown hero personality, if you ask me.
His game? Well, that will change. It has to, once he goes to the NBA.
That’s where Jimmermania will either mushroom or slowly go away. The Adam Morrison craze actually left quickly, mainly because of his game. For awhile his mustache was as famous as Tom Selleck’s. Now, he’s mostly mentioned as an expample of overhype.
If Fredette goes on to become a star in the NBA, he’ll just keep getting more marketable. I can picture it now: Jimmer backpacks, Jimmer lunchboxes, Jimmer video games, Jimmer mousepads. Otherwise, it could become just another memorable name, like Truck Robinson or Tractor Traylor.