Bermanisms collected to date: 121
Nicknames given by ESPN's Chris "I'm Not Your Beast of" Berman to NFL players (past & present), in alphabetical order by the player's last name, as compiled by Josh "Do The Right Thing" Liller. If you know of any football Bermanisms (no baseball please) that aren't on this list, please let me know!
|
Pos |
Player Name & Nickname |
Reference To |
|---|---|---|
|
FB |
Mike "You're in Good Hands With" Alstott | "you're in good hands with All-State", motto of All-State Insurance |
|
K |
David "Green" Akers | "green acres" |
|
WR |
Willie "Flipper" Anderson | Anderson' nickname, not originally coined by Berman |
|
CB |
"The Winner and Still" Champ Bailey | "The winner and still champion" |
|
WR |
Stephen Baker "The Touchdown Maker" | baker and maker rhyme |
|
WR |
Michael Bates "Motel" | The Bates Motel, from Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" |
|
RB |
"The Bus" Jerome Bettis | Bettis' nickname, not originally coined by Berman |
|
RB |
Eric "Sleepin with" Bienemy | "Sleeping With the Enemy", a movie |
|
WR |
J.J. "Beast of" Birden |
"beast of burden" |
|
QB |
Tom "A Man Named" Brady | "The Brady Bunch", a 60s TV show |
|
WR |
Vincent "Ultimate" Brisby | ultimate frisbee |
|
QB |
Marc Bulger "The Scarecrow" | Ryan Bolger played The Scarecrow in the original Wizard of Oz |
|
K |
Kevin "the" Butler "did it" | "The Butler Did It", a reference to the game Clue |
|
coach |
"Dom Dom Dom Ditty" Dom Capers | reference to the lyrics of a song from the 50s/60s |
|
RB |
Larry "Self" Centers | "self-centered" |
|
WR |
Chris Chambers "Time Has Come Today" | "Time Has Come Today", a song by The Chambers Brothers |
|
FB |
Bob "Sister" Christian | "Sister Christian", a song by Night Ranger |
|
TE |
Ben "Winter" Coates | "winter coats" |
|
DE |
Marco? Coleman! | "Marco?" "Polo!", a reference to the game Marco Polo |
|
S |
Marcus? Coleman! | "Marco?" "Polo!", a reference to the game Marco Polo |
|
K |
Jose "Baby" Cortez | Dave "Baby" Cortez, a musician |
|
QB |
Tim Couch "Potato" | "couch potatoes" |
|
WR |
Chris Carter - "All He Does Is Catch Touchdowns" | Chris Carter has 2nd most career touchdowns in NFL history |
|
WR |
Donald "Duke in the" Driver |
Dukes of Hazard ? |
|
RB |
Warrick "Well" Dunn | "well done" |
|
WR |
Mark "Super" Duper | "super duper" Duper eventually legally changed his middle name to Super |
|
WR |
Kevin "Slicin'" Dyson | rhyming |
|
WR |
Quinn "better" Early "than late" | a wordplay on the proverb "better early than late" |
|
QB |
"Champaign" Tony Eason | Eason played for University of Illinois, located in Champaign, IL (?) |
|
RB |
"Marshall Marshall" Marshall Faulk |
refers to "marsha, marsha, marsh!" from the Brady Bunch |
|
QB |
Brett Favre-"gnugen" | refers to farfignugen (sp), a type of food |
|
QB |
A.J. "Touchy" Feeley |
"touchy feely" |
|
K |
Jay "Seely" Feely | rhyming |
|
QB |
Jay Fiedler "on the Roof" | "Fiddler on the Roof", a famous play |
|
LB |
"Werewolves of" London Fletcher | "Werewolves of London", a song |
|
RB |
Barry "Bananas" Foster | bananas foster is a dessert, similiar to a banana split |
|
RB |
Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afal "He's a Bad Ma'afal" | wordplay on "bad motherf*cker" |
|
QB |
Rich "Loose" Gannon | "loose cannon" |
|
QB |
Jeff "Boy" George | Boy George, a musician |
|
WR |
Jeff Graham "Crackers" | graham crackers |
|
RB |
"Ah-Ah-Ah" Ahman Green | sneezing |
|
WR |
"Ah-Ah-Ah" Az-Zahir Hakim | sneezing |
|
K |
Jason "Look Ma, No" Hanson | "look ma, no hands!" |
|
WR |
"Starvin'" Marvin Harrison | Starvin' Marvins |
|
WR |
Andre "Battle of" Hastings | Battle of Hastings (1066), a famous victory by the Normans over the English |
|
WR |
Michael "Purple" Haynes | "Purple Haze", a song by Jimi Hendrix |
|
TE |
Todd "Uriah" Heep | Uriah Heep, a rock band |
|
RB |
Garrison "First I Look to the" Hearst | |
|
FB |
William Henderson "The Rain King" | "Henderson the Rain King", a book by Saul Bellow |
|
RB |
Craig "Ironhead" Heyward | |
|
WR |
Randall "Thrill" Hill | rhyme on Hill's last name (he eventually legally changed his middle name to Thrill) |
|
WR |
Joe "Little Big" Horn | The Battle of Little Bighorn (1876) aka Custer's Last Stand |
|
WR |
T.J. "you say" Houshmandzadeh "I say Houshmandzada" |
similiar to "you say po-tat-oe, I say po-ta-toe" |
|
K |
Micheal "Coma Husta" Husted | some butchery of the Spanish language by Berman |
|
WR |
Raghib "The Rocket" Ismail | |
|
WR |
Quadry "The Missile" Ismail | |
|
RB |
Bo "Didley" Jackson | Bo Didley, a musician |
|
WR |
Michael "hee-hee" Jackson | refers to the other Michael Jackson (the famous pop star) |
|
RB |
"Cutting" Edgerrin James | "cutting edge" |
|
WR |
"Okay, It's" Martay Jenkins | rhyming |
|
WR |
"Look at" James Jett | wordplay |
WR |
"Temple" Bethel Johnson | Temple Beth-El |
|
CB |
"Lucky" Tebucky Jones | rhyming |
|
DT |
"Supreme" Cortez Kennedy | "supreme court" |
|
WR |
Todd "Heat in the" Kinchen | "'heat in the kitchen" |
|
LB |
"He Shall Be A" Levon Kirkland | the lyrics of "Levon", a song by Elton John |
|
WR |
Reggie "Foghorn" Langhorne | Foghorn Leghorn from Looney Toons |
|
S |
"The Swami's Cousin" Kwamie Lassiter | Kwamie rhymes with "Swami", one of Berman's nicknames |
|
RB |
Stacey MACK! | |
|
QB |
"The Magic Man" Don Majkowski |
"Magic Man", a song by Heart |
|
RB |
Curtis "My Favorite" Martin | "My Favorite Martian", a TV show |
|
QB |
Dan "The Man" Marino | Marino's nickname, not originally coined by Berman |
|
QB |
"The" Shane Matthews "Band" | The Dave Matthews Band |
|
WR |
Terance "Twelfth but Never" Mathis | "The Twelfth Of Never", a song by Johnny Mathis |
|
RB |
"Ace" Duece McAllister |
aces and dueces are playing cards (A's & 2's) |
|
WR |
"Easy" Ed McCaffrey | |
|
CB |
R.W. "Silver Dollar" McQuarters | silver dollars and quarters are both types of coins |
|
RB |
Natrone Means "Business" Natrone "Refried" Means |
wordplay "refried beans" |
|
CB |
Mike "After Dinner" Minter | "after dinner mint" |
|
QB |
Warren "Full" Moon | "full moon" |
|
WR |
Herman's Moore | "Herman is more" |
|
WR |
Johnnie Morton "Salt" | Morton Salt, a common brand of salt especially for water softeners |
|
RB |
James Mungro "Jerry" | Mungro Jerry (a 60s band?) |
|
K |
Eddie "Eat, Drink and Be" Murray |
"eat drink and be merry" |
|
RB |
Brad "Colonel" Muster "In the Endzone, With the Football" | Colonel Mustard, a reference to the game Clue |
|
WR |
Dennis Northcutt "and a south-cut and an east-cut and a west-cut" | pun on Northcutt's last name, based on the 4 primary compass directions |
|
RB |
"The Nigerian Nightmare" Christian Okoye | Okoye is a native of Nigeria |
|
FB |
Tony "Turn the" Paige | "Turn the Page", a song originally by Bob Seiger |
|
WR |
David "General" Patten | General George Patton, a famous WW2 US Army tank commander |
|
DT |
William "The Refridgerator" Perry | Perry's nickname, predating Berman. Perry was really really big |
|
RB |
Lawrence "of Arabia" Phillips | Lawrence of Arabia (T.E. Lawrence), a famous British soldier during WWI |
|
WR |
Carl "Slim" Pickens | Slim Pickens, an actor whose psuedonym was a wordplay on "slim pickings" |
|
QB |
Jake "The Snake" Plummer | Plummer's nickname, predating Berman. shared by former Oakland Raider QB Ken Stabler. |
|
FB |
Stanley "Wilson" Pritchett | Wilson Pickett, a musician |
|
WR |
Ricky Proehl "Shampoo" |
"Prell Shampoo" |
|
QB |
Jonathon "Medicine Man" Quinn | "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman", a 90s TV show |
|
RB |
Dominic "Rocky" Rhodes | "rocky roads" |
|
WR |
Jerry "Instant" Rice | "instant rice" |
|
WR |
Andre "Bad Moon" Rison Andre "Spiderman" Rison |
"Bad Moon Rising", a song by Eric Burton & The Animals toward the end of his career, Rison started doing a Spiderman-inspired TD dance |
|
WR |
Marcus Robinson "Coo coo ca-choo" | 'coo coo ca-choo Mrs. Robinson' is part of the song "Mrs Robinson" by Simon & Garkfunkel |
|
RB |
Barry "Quick" Sanders | "very quick" |
|
CB |
"Neon" Deion "Primetime" Sanders | both nicknames predate Berman and refer to his flashy style |
|
LB |
Junior "Not Looking Senior" Seau |
play on junior and senior |
|
S |
Kurt Shultz "knows nothing" | Sgt. Shultz on the TV show "Hogan's Heroes" was known for saying "I know nothing" |
|
RB |
Vai "Ask Vai" Sikahema | "ask me" |
|
LB |
Peter Sirmon "Delievers" | delievering a sermon |
|
QB |
Akili "Heel" Smith | "achilles heel", the major tendon behind your ankle. named after the Greek mythical hero Achilles |
|
RB |
"Little Man" Jimmy Stewart (James Stewart) Jimmay Stewart (said in an Jimmy Stewart accent) |
James "Jimmy" Stewart, famous actor |
|
RB |
"The A-Train" Anthony Thomas | |
|
RB |
Thurman "Thermal" Thomas | VP of Thermal Energy Inc is named Thomas (?) Thomas Luckenbach is semifamous for his thermal analysis (?) |
|
TE/ coach |
Mike "Miami" Tice | "Miami Vice", a TV show |
|
WR |
"Well Dressed" Amani Toomer | Armani, a type of expensive business suit |
|
RB |
Ricky "Running" Waters | "running water" |
|
WR |
"Uncle" Jed Weaver Jed "Dream" Weaver |
Beverly Hillbillies "Dream Weaver", a song by Gary Wright |
|
QB |
Chris Wienke "Dinky Doo" | silly giberish that ryhmes with Wienke's last name |
|
RB |
Lo White "and the 7 Dwarves" (Lorzeno White) | "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (Lorenzo's first name is often shortened to Lo) |
|
WR |
Karl "The Truth" Williams | |
|
WR |
Hines Ward "One of 57 Varieties of Pickles" | Heinz 57 (now known mostly for their ketchup) originally sold 57 varieties of pickles |
|
RB |
Barry "Never a Dicouraging" Word | "never a discouraging word" |
|
RB |
Vince Workman "my way back to you babe" | "Working My Way Back to You", a song by Frankie Vallie |
|
QB |
Steve "Forever" Young | "Forever Young", a Mel Gibson movie |
|
RB |
"Famous" Amos Zereoue | Famous Amos, a brand of cookies |