Unless you’re in Europe, The Manx Missile nickname for Columbia HTC sprinter Mark Cavendish leaves more questions than answers. It took 2 hours on Wiki pages and a bottle of scotch before I learned what Manx actually is. Then I passed out.
Manx is a breed of cat with a spinal mutation that causes them to have short or under-developed tails. Really! It’s true. Check out the little nubbin' in the picture. They are cute and cuddly, which does bode well for Cavendish’s spirited post race teammate hugging. However, I doubt any man wants to be nicknamed after something with a short tail. Additionally, I do recall, while watching the podium presentation, a female in the room pointed out that Caven-dash did deliver quite an express package to the finish line. Seriously, Cavendish is from the Isle of Man, which floats in the water off the coast of England. Locally the island, language and people are known as Manx.
I’m sure Manx is a wonderful place, but it might as well be the moon. That’s coming from someone who’s probably more traveled than most. Traveling to Scotland, Germany, and The Netherlands, I’ve probably flown over the Isle quite a few times and didn’t even know it. Till you read this, I’m guessing you didn’t know much about Manx and might be consulting your World Atlas right now. Secondly, I don’t think Manx Missile has the same panache of Petacchi’s Ale-Jet or McEwen’s Pocket Rocket. May I suggest the following nickname idea’s for Mark Cavendish:
Cannon-dish (or any knock off’s of his name such as: Kickin' Kavendish, Caven-dash, Caven-dart, Cannon-flash). While not as creative as Manx Missile, they are all more understandable without consulting the World Atlas.
British Bullet. Sure people from the Isle of Man probably prefer Manx, but nicknames need to cast a wider umbrella. Plus, a bullet with a British flag would make a killer logo or bike paint job.
Space Shuttle Columbia. He’s fast like a rocket. His team is Columbia. Uh…what? Oooh, forgot about that. Nevermind.
Marcus The Tank Engine. Fun and kid friendly, could make for great merchandising.
Highspeed Hugger or Cuddle Comet. Take your pick. They’re both gold baby. GOLD!
Expeditious Cavendishious. Okay I shouldn’t have opened up the Thesaurus.
Juvi Jet or Jumpin Juvi. What? He’s fast. He’s young. C’mon.
Okay. Maybe Manx Missile isn’t all that bad after all.
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MINNEAPOLIS - Greg Lemond's accusations against Lance Armstrong stooped to new lows at a Le Tour de France press conference Thursday. "I saw him, I did, he was huddled beside the Astana team bus stuffing something down his bib shorts, yeah, it looked like an oily piece of Braunschwieger, he's guilty and he knows it, who is he trying to fool here" LeMond confessed to CNN journalist Derek Mannzinsky. LeMond has been known to harbor great bitterness toward Mr. Armstrong and has fervently accused him of doping. Armstrong's only comment was "he is demented, poor Greg, I don't know, you don't mess with Texas is all I can say." LeMond was seen out and about at a video game arcade in a rural Minneapolis Wal-Mart wearing his 1986 yellow jersey.
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