Characterisation of unconventional exor-anthroponyms in sport: the spectacle and aesthetics of player nicknames in Zimbabwean soccer

ABSTRACT

This study concerns itself with nicknames of Zimbabwean soccer players with a view to understanding not only the process or act of their creation and ascription and the various power dynamics attendant on the processes, but also the nicknames’ semantic and aesthetic structures. The paper argues that the fans’ primary drive to nickname players suggests their intention to participate in a group action that can influence player performance, create, sustain and/or change player and team identities. Using purposefully sampled player nicknames, this study explores the semantic yet cultural function of nicknaming as performative and identification acts, laying especial emphasis on what nicknames can potentially tell us about the spectacle and culture of Zimbabwean soccer and soccer fandom.

KEYWORDS:

• Zimbabwean soccer
• nicknaming
• soccer fandom
• identity
• conceptual metaphor

Notes

1. See the article ‘Lionel Messi – Argentine Soccer’s New Messiah’ available at: http://wander-argentina.com/lionel-messi-argentine-soccers-new-messiah/.

2. Thelwell et al. (2010) define a first touch as ‘where you bring the ball under control with one touch and no other movements to shield the ball from opponents are necessary’.