DAILY DIRT: Best nicknames in NFL history? The oldies are still the goodies

Any argument with the best-ever NFL nickname? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,084 of The Daily Dirt

1. Maybe it’s just me, but wouldn’t the following make a great movie?

Tom Hanks would seem to be a natural to play the lead role.

In 1936, Life magazine published its inaugural issue, highlighted by a story that covered the birth of a random U.S. baby. The plan was to do a periodic update on that child as it grew older, which was a perfect idea for “Life” magazine.

The baby chosen was an infant named George Story (kind of a fitting surname for a topic of this nature, eh?), and for years the magazine kept America up to date with how he was growing, developing, his interests, etc.

So, in March 2000, Life magazine announced it will be shutting down. Ironically, in April, George Story died of apparent heart failure. Story’s birth was celebrated with Life’s first issue … and his death chronicled at the end of the publication in a story fittingly titled “A Life Ends”. 

And if not a full-blown movie about this, I don’t see how a six-part mini-series on AMC, Netflix, Max or Paramount+ would not be boffo box office.

2. Did you know (Part 150)

• That Disney World in Florida closed for Hurricane Milton, only the 11th closing in the park’s 50-plus years of existence. The closing cost the park an estimated $200 million.
• That Michael Jordan’s private jet carried a $70 million price tag when he purchased it, and costs $3 million a year in maintenance. Don’t fret, however, for Michael, who brings home about $350 million a year from the famous Air Jordan shoe line. He also owns part of Draft Kings and sold controlling interest of the Charlotte Hornets in 2023 for $3 billion. He’s doing OK.
• That a single glazed doughnut has about 300 calories.
• That the newest Haagen-Dazs ice cream flavor will be pistachio.
• That Coffee Mate is unveiling a KitKat flavor.

3. How are these for the 10 greatest nicknames in NFL history?

• 1. Andre “Bad Moon” Rison
• 2. Dick “Night Train” Lane
• 3. Tyrann “The Honey Badger” Mathieu
• 4. “Mean” Joe Greene
• 5. Ed “Too Tall” Jones
• 6. Deion “Prime Time” Sanders
• 7. Jack “The Assassin” Tatum
• 8. Billy “White Shoes” Johnson
• 9. “Broadway Joe” Namath
• 10. Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch

Honorable mention: Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, Christian “The Nigerian Nightmare” Okoye, Jerome “The Bus” Bettis, Reggie “The Minister of Defense” White, Calvin “Megatron” Johnson, Doug “Muscle Hamster” Martin, Ken “The Snake” Stabler and Stephen “The Touchdown Maker” Baker.

Steve Thought O’ The Day – The best-looking college football jerseys are the burnt-orange tops of Texas. My son, Geoff, suggested Saturday I need to a Daily Dirt list about this subject. I think he’s correct. Watch for it in the coming days.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Muscle Hamster?