http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/201211/nfler-has-bizarre-gameday-alter-ego I thought this was related since most of you like to call Wake the Kracken....but it looks like someone already took that name. *mods, i wasnt sure where to put this, so move it if you want to.
Hardy doesn't deserve such a strong nickname as Kracken. Maybe Kracken light, but not full on Kracken.
There is but one Kraken, and he began in the frigid waters of the Great White North, not by missing games in college due to incorrect sized shoes.
He's a 290-pound 4-3 defensive end with 6.5 sacks. Former 6th round pick. Basically a productive Jared Odrick.
Nicknames are generally contrived and way overused anyway IMO. Only a fraction are decent and actually work. Like Smokin' Joe Frazier or Thomas 'The Hitman' Hearns (and even he started as 'The Motor City Cobra'). MMA is my favorite. For every Jon 'Bones' Jones, there's a dozen Nick 'The Promise' Rings.
Not so much Deej, Wake's came from his CFL name being to long: "EarthWake" And exploding on the scene at the same time Clash of the Titans was remade and released+his style of sort of using a long arm to pull down a Qb like a encyhlaepod would catch a fish.
The pre-1980's NFL nicknames were great IMO, Muck. Crazy Legs Hirsh Too Tall Jones Night Train Lane Concrete Charlie Raw Meat (Bob StClair) FudgeHammer Frank Nunley (obviously this would have a different meaning today than in the 60's/70's ) Galloping Ghost Broadway Joe Kansas Comet Mean Joe Blonde Bomber Bradshaw Scramblin' Fran Slingin' Sammy Uptown Gene (Upshaw) Hacksaw Reynolds First Down Jim Brown Diesel Riggins The Juice Dandy Don Meredith Bullett Bob Hayes Lou "The Toe" Groza Glue Fingers Lavelli Billy White Shoes Mad Stork (Ted Hedricks) Mad Duck (Karras) Bald Eagle (Tittle) Old Bones Morrall Steel Curtain Alley Oop Owens Purple People Eaters Fearsome Foursome No Name Defense Monsters of the Midway The Million Dollar Backfield (Tittle, McIlhenny, Joe Perry, JH Johnson) Most of the new nicknames seem too contrived, and it's like they're being handed out like Halloween candy and are annoyingly exaggerated to boot.
Maybe Cam's nickname should be something subtle and throwback..... like Holdin' Cam Wake. If we could get that to go national perhaps its mocking nature could draw more flags thrown on his behalf like he deserves.