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For years, Las Vegas front man TurfToe has been opposed to the rampant spread of unearned nicknames. Things change and so do GM's apparently. KLAS, Channel 8 in Las Vegas sent Ida Duar on the road with the Rounders for their Week 1 matchup in Arizona. One of her conversations with the long time GM centered on the new names being thrown around in the locker room and on the sidelines.
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: TurfToe, it's been a long-standing policy in Vegas that players had to earn their nickname, what's with the recent change in Vegas?
[u09f821b]TT[/u09f821b]: In my 20+ years of GM'ing in the CFL, many things have changed. Back in the day we had a few major nationally televised games each year and that was it. Guys became household names based on big performances in those rare opportunities. With the media attention we get nowadays, every game every week is big and seen in the majority of homes nationwide. The CFL got so big that it has almost had the opposite effect. There's no single outlet for these guys to have a single significant impact that marks them for their career. These young guys are from a new generation, the generation that needs immediate gratification. Every guy good enough to make the CFL has already been tagged with a nickname in college. So I've decided to ease up on my guys a little and nicknames is one of those areas I'm not so stubborn about as I used to be.
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: So guys can call themselves whatever they want?
[u09f821b]TT[/u09f821b]: Not really, it's still an earned respect. It's just that these guys practice, travel, and play together so much they find reasons to name certain guys certain things, even if they are not football related. I let the veterans manage the locker room, I just manage who gets into the locker room.
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: What effect do you think this has on the game?
[u09f821b]TT[/u09f821b]: None to be honest. I think it cheapens the history of the CFL a little...names like Jackpot, The Colonel, and The Polish Express meant something to everyone...players, coaches, GM's, fans...now you have 10 nicknames on every team. It's just the way things are now and I'm cool with that, I'll just make sure to honor the game by remembering the good ones, the really good ones, and ignore the rest of the fluff. That's all it is really, it's fluff.
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: Tito "Long, Hard, Fulla" Seaman, Damon "Master" Bates, KC "Masterpiece" Hutchins...these nicknames don't bother you?
[u09f821b]TT[/u09f821b]: Well sure they do, they're just stupid. But like I said, I've learned to focus my talents on the things that really matter in getting Vegas to a championship. If these nicknames make guys happy, they can have them. They may look back later in their career and realize how moronic they are, but it's no worse than a bad tattoo - a drunken night of fun, a fistful of $20's, a faded badge of regret.
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: Do you want to see my tattoo?
[u09f821b]TT[/u09f821b]: I don't think you can compare the regret of getting your tramp stamp with the regret of knowing it's imprinted on the locker room floor...
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: Wait...
[u09f821b]TT[/u09f821b]: ...or on the wall in the showers...
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: Why you...
[u09f821b]TT[/u09f821b]: ...or on the trainer's table...
*spliced audio*
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: I have Vegas RB KC Hutchins with me discussing the topic of nicknames. KC, what do you think of your nickname 'Masterpiece'.
[u09f821b]KC[/u09f821b]: *laughs* I don't care what they call me as long as I have a CFL contract and there's a team that wants to give me the rock. Coming from a small high school and then a division two school, it's nice to know someone cares enough about me to call me anything at all.
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: Last year they called you 'D-2', did that bother you at all?
[u09f821b]KC[/u09f821b]: Not really. Like I said, I don't care what they call me. Last year was a tough season for me. I came in as a high first round selection and played well until I got hurt. Turf toe is a tough injury because people cannot see how the injury affects your running and cutting abilities. I tried to come back a few times but I just couldn't do it. Hell, I'd have called myself worse than D-2. I used to be called 'Shake and Bake' in college but with my name and all, the guys decide 'Masterpiece' would be better I guess.
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: The new split end on your team, Damon Bates, has been recently dubbed 'Master'. Can you let us in on that one?
[u09f821b]KC[/u09f821b]: *laughing harder* No, but I'm sure if you ask nice he will show you... *falls over*
[u09f821b]Ida[/u09f821b]: Well, now I'm almost afraid to ask about Tito's nickname...
[u09f821b]Tito[/u09f821b]: Come on now Ida, you know exactly how I got that nickname...wait, where are you going? *follows* Don't cry Ida, we didn't even let you know what your nickname was...'Definitely'. *doing the Quagmire* Ida 'Definitely' Duar. Hey guys, I think she left...
_________________ ROF Division Champions: 2039 - 2043, 2045, 2047, 2054, 2056 - 2060, 2063, 2066-2067, 2070-2072
WFC Conference Champions: 2018, 2041, 2042, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062-2063
CFL Champions: 2018, 2041, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062
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