So far this year, North Atlanta’s football team has had a season that is nothing more than legendary. Along with the legendary play, the players also have legendary nicknames for each other. Nicknames seem to be a staple for any team hoping to achieve success as they display a sense of brotherhood and chemistry throughout the sidelines and the locker room, and the players on the North Atlanta football team are all for the playful name-calling.
For most football players who play a large role in producing wins for North Atlanta, having a nickname is like a brand-new way of identification when on the sideline of a game. For some, these nicknames are good enough to stick outside of the classroom and will someday be used to bring back the player’s glory days of living out their gridiron dreams as a North Atlanta football player. These names given to the players by either a coach or a player are special to that player, so they display the bond that the team has on and off the field and it brings the group closer together. “I think having different nicknames for each player makes practices and games more fun,” said junior Ben Diedrich, “It’s really funny to see the nicknames we come up with stick outside of football, and they always make for a good laugh.”
Some of the Popular North Atlanta football Nicknames this year include, David “String Bean” Hughes, coming from his height and weight, and Wyatt “Smiley” Welch, coming from his ability to hold a toothy smile even when getting yelled at by his coaches, Lucas “Chubbs” England, due to his chubby appearance with all his football equipment, Ian “Ireyfootball” coming from his old Instagram username, Jayleon “Boosie” Mitchell because of his known name coming from his South Memphis roots, Cayden “Chunks” Edwards, which comes from his stocky build, Henry “Deebo” Debradeleben, because his last name is too hard to say, Josiah “Lunch Lady” Coleman, which comes from his lunch lady “appearance” noted by his teammates, and Demetrius “Meat Sauce” Barnes, because of the sound of his name if said fast enough. And then, there are the nicknames that are self-explanatory and come from the first name or last name itself such as Darius “Dmalc” Malcolm, Ben “Big Ben” Diedrich, Xaden “Xaddy” Benson, Xavier “Xee” Ellison, and Quentin “Q” Fields.
When the Warriors take the field on Friday Night Lights, it’s almost a guarantee that these nicknames will be thrown around the sideline and in the locker room. Football would not be the sport it is today without a little fun, and nicknames sure do bring that factor during the boy’s time on the gridiron.
