Caleb Williams vs. George Gervin: Who Is the Real Iceman?
This past week, the NFL media and Twitterverse found themselves in peak offseason form, arguing about the dumbest possible controversy to keep themselves entertained until the Draft kicks off in three weeks.
And this time, our Golden Boy, Caleb Williams, was at the center of it.
If you weren’t already aware, Caleb filed for a few trademarks last week, most notably the “Iceman” nickname he was coined this past season.
And deservedly so. My QB has ice in his veins.
Now, normally, this wouldn’t cause much of a ruckus. But this is Caleb Williams, a man the media would never use as clickbait, and on top of that, “Iceman” is not exactly an untaken nickname.
Enter George Gervin.
The NBA legend did not take too kindly to QB1 filing a trademark for a nickname that originally stuck with him back in the 1970s, when he was lighting it up for the San Antonio Spurs.
As a ball knower, I respect legends of the game across all sports, and George absolutely falls into that category. So I will refrain from calling him a cranky old man who left the retirement home to yell at a cloud, even though I really want to.
But what I will say is this. Really, George, is it that big of a deal?
I mean, I get it. If I had a nickname as cool as “The Iceman,” I would want it to be mine and mine alone. But let’s not act like he didn’t have roughly 550,000 years to trademark this thing. Am I crazy?
If he were upset about someone using his nickname in the same sport, same era, same context, that would be one thing. But to come out of the woodwork the moment a savvy young businessman wants to throw it on a T-shirt and make a quick buck feels like a bit much.
And this was not some nickname Caleb and his team cooked up in a boardroom for publicity. It came naturally. Just like how JJ McCarthy calling himself “Nine” was completely organic and not at all stupid or cringeworthy. Totally normal. Nothing weird about that whatsoever.
And yes, I will defend Caleb Williams no matter who comes after him or how strong their argument is.
I 100 percent admit my bias. But I still think this whole thing is incredibly dumb, especially when you consider that Chuck Liddell also used the nickname “Iceman,” and nobody seemed to have an issue with that.
That is what makes this whole thing ridiculous. It feels like just another round of anti-Caleb Williams propaganda that I simply cannot wrap my head around. I will make sure to really hear Skip Bayless out on this one.
I am sure he has a very rational take that he will coherently explain in a Twitter video that will be at least 28 minutes long.
Anyways, this would all be for nothing if I did not come here to give my army of three avid readers a solution to this madness.
I now declare that George Gervin, Caleb Williams, Chuck Liddell, and I, Sean Watters, will all now be called the Iceman.
Caleb can make his shirts. George can reminisce on the good old days. Chuck probably does not give an absolute damn because he is built differently and can keep doing whatever he is doing. And now I get to sign off on every blog as the Iceman.
I think that is fair.
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