Los Angeles, CA – Most NBA players spend the off-season relaxing with their families, playing golf, working out to improve for the next season, or fighting assorted drug and assault charges. Superstar center Shaquille O’Neal, however, recently told The Blue Brick that he will spend the majority of the off-season inventing and testing new nicknames for himself. “It’s very important to have a good nick-name. I’ve been known mostly as ‘Shaq-Daddy’ and ‘Shaq Diesel’ during my career, and it’s time for a change”, said the member of the world champion Los Angeles Lakers.
The normally aloof O’Neal was impassioned about his new nickname quest when we spoke to him via telephone. “I’m really pumped. If I can come up with something really cool, man, the rest will take care of itself.” When asked what he meant by “the rest”, O’Neal said “You know, taking one game at a time, staying focused, giving 110%.”
So, what can fans expect to be calling Shaquille O’Neal when NBA camps open late this summer? “Expect the unexpected”, says Shaq “who knows, my new nickname might not even rhyme.”
O’Neal is not the only one who thinks that a nickname change will do him good. Public relations guru Mark Crawford works with athletes and celebrities, and says “I think Shaquille O’Neal should come up with something more topical, more ‘now’. But, any new nickname should definitely rhyme. How else will the public remember it?” If he were working for O’Neal, Crawford would suggest “Raise my Stack Shaq”, “Mickity Mack Shaq”, or “Real Deal O’Neal”.
O’Neal says that whatever nicknames he comes up with will be battle tested before he announces his final decision. “I’ll run (the nicknames) by my boys, and definitely by my mother. She’ll have the final say.” |
