 Waxangel United States. October 13 2009 08:51. Posts 4178 | Profile Blog |
Some scattered thoughts on Jaedong and progamer nicknames
I’m surprised that after so many accomplishments, Lee Jaedong still has no satisfactory nickname. ‘Tyrant’ and ‘God of Destruction’ were attached to him by MBCGame and Ongamenet respectively to some initial backlash from the fans. However, the fans failed to agree on a suitable alternative, and the ensuing seasons of announcer repetition made the above two his de facto nicknames.
Korea has a very active fan community where people will grasp at straws just so a player can have any kind of nickname. GGPlay was known as the “Attention Zerg” during his early career, simply because he stood rigidly at attention in front of the audience, before and after proleague matches. Even the LACK of distinctive features will earn you a nickname, like in the case of Light, the “Invisible Terran.” Considering that Jaedong has a very aggressive style of play, and that his game face is one of the most distinct ones in Starcraft, it is really odd that nothing has caught on.
I can try to reason through the reasons that might explain this peculiarity, but nothing I can think of is satisfactory. Part of it might be because he didn’t have the time to get an early career nickname. Several players who have won Starleagues in their careers continue to be called by their old nicknames, given to them when they were low-mid level players. Some of these nicknames are outright insulting or just completely comical, but have changed into affectionate nicknames. Fantasy’s nicknames of “terrorist” and “Jung Laden” were attached to him because he was jokingly accused of committing acts of terror against the Starleagues by eliminating players who were considered better than him at the time. Now that he’s proven himself as an excellent player, the old names have become much more affectionate, and coincidentally rather appropriate for his harassing style of play. In a similar vein, Nada is still called “Otter” by some, and Iloveoov is still called “house servant” from time to time. Jaedong had a very short developmental phase in his career, going from a near unknown to a Zerg vs Terran monster with undeniable potential, to arguably the best player in the world. So there may have been no time to consider a casual nickname, because he became someone you had to take completely seriously before the fans had enough time to get to know him.
After a gamer has reached a degree of notoriety, the new nicknames tend to be based on their high level of skill like “Maestro” or “God of war,” although there are especially popular exceptions like Boxer’s many nicknames making fun of his melon-like head. In any case, Jaedong doesn’t even have a proper nickname to glorify his skill. Two of Jaedong’s contemporaries with similarly meteoric rises, Flash and Bisu, quickly earned their nicknames of “Final Weapon” and “Revolutionist” after they proved their skill. (Note: Bisu’s first popular nickname was “Phuket” as fans mocked him for going along on MBCGame’s Thai vacation just two weeks before his MSL Final date with Savior. Needless to say, the name only lasted for those two weeks.) Jaedong has spent over a year as a top five player and still can’t get a skill based nickname. He’s so unlucky with nicknames his name can’t even be paired with Bonjwa. None of the characters in the name Lee Jae Dong sound quite harmonious enough. Ma-Bonjwa and Taek-Bonjwa (for delusional Bisu fans) have a nice ring to them, but Dong-Bonjwa sounds absolutely terrible. Not even his suspiciously close friendship with Lomo has been of any inspiration, despite its practically begging for some sort of mockery.
The only fan nickname that’s semi-stuck is “Lee Jae Dong Nae Buk//이제동네북,” which came up during a brief two week slump in 2008. It’s a pun on his name which means “neighborhood drum,” an expression in Korean for someone who gets beat up by everyone else (think of ‘village bike’ in English, except with violence and not sex). This one still gets limited use in some situations, but is barely taken seriously.
I hope that if we wait long enough, a perfect source will come along. Maybe it will be an epic match, an embarrassing photograph, or entertaining anecdote. In any case, as with all the other nicknames, we’ll simply know if it’s right.
Last edit: 2009-10-13 09:05:12
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 LeperKahn United States. October 13 2009 08:59. Posts 749 | Profile Blog |
The Unnameable Zerg!
Also, some Voldemort comparisons come to mind...
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and You-Know-Who
@v I'd agree, but I think the OP said there was some fan backlash.Last edit: 2009-10-13 09:01:46 |
| | Ma Jae Yoon Hwaiting! • CJ Entusman #14 • Dark templar don't show up in .jpeg |
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 Crunchums United States. October 13 2009 08:59. Posts 3620 | Profile |
| What is wrong with "The Tyrant", I feel it fits him perfectly. |
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 T.O.P. Hong Kong. October 13 2009 09:00. Posts 1109 | Profile |
On October 13 2009 08:59 Crunchums wrote:
What is wrong with "The Tyrant", I feel it fits him perfectly.
It doesn't sound cool. |
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 Harem United States. October 13 2009 09:02. Posts 2815 | Profile | |
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 Flicky United Kingdom. October 13 2009 09:02. Posts 216 | Profile Blog |
On October 13 2009 08:51 Waxangel wrote:
It’s a pun on his name which means “neighborhood drum,” an expression in Korean for someone who gets beat up by everyone else (think of ‘village bike’ in English).
The village bike is the slut who gets banged by everyone, not someone who gets beaten up. |
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| Waxangel United States. October 13 2009 09:03. Posts 4178 | Profile Blog |
On October 13 2009 09:02 Flicky wrote:
Show nested quote +On October 13 2009 08:51 Waxangel wrote:
It’s a pun on his name which means “neighborhood drum,” an expression in Korean for someone who gets beat up by everyone else (think of ‘village bike’ in English).
The village bike is the slut who gets banged by everyone, not someone who gets beaten up.
it was an analogy
though it is ambiguous as to whether it's an analogy or direct comparison now that I look at it in retrospect
actually you're right time to fix it  ]Last edit: 2009-10-13 09:04:54 |
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| LeperKahn United States. October 13 2009 09:05. Posts 749 | Profile Blog |
On October 13 2009 09:02 Harem wrote:
dongjwa
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| | Ma Jae Yoon Hwaiting! • CJ Entusman #14 • Dark templar don't show up in .jpeg |
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| tirentu Canada. October 13 2009 09:14. Posts 372 | Profile |
On October 13 2009 09:05 LeperKahn wrote:
This is perfect. Koreans, adopt it immediately. |
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| El.Divino United States. October 13 2009 09:16. Posts 959 | Profile Blog |
That's true.
Jaedong is kind of just his name. He's no dagger or maestro.
Maybe like Final Boss Zerg?
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 geegee1 United States. October 13 2009 09:22. Posts 398 | Profile Blog |
The monster
unslumpable zerg
i roll you easy zerg |
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 xMiragex United States. October 13 2009 09:25. Posts 567 | Profile Blog | |
| | Bisu doesnt need DTs, He uses probes. just ask Flash. sAviOr destroyed the moon in 2009. |
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 soonsu France. October 13 2009 09:27. Posts 143 | Profile |
| wasn't "Legend Killer" his nickname? if so, that's totally badass |
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 Liquid`NonY October 13 2009 09:28. Posts 2970 | Profile Blog |
maybe it's less natural to give a nickname to someone who doesnt give himself a nickname (his game ID is same as given name)
and not giving into the childish practice of nicknames might indicate a higher level of respectLast edit: 2009-10-13 09:29:53 |
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| El.Divino United States. October 13 2009 09:31. Posts 959 | Profile Blog |
On October 13 2009 09:28 Liquid`NonY wrote:
maybe it's less natural to give a nickname to someone who doesnt give himself a nickname (his game ID is same as given name)
and not giving into the childish practice of nicknames might indicate a higher level of respect
I'ma have to disagree a bit, in that nicknames aren't always childish.
I mean "Snot Toss" and "Shit Terran"? Yeah, maybe.
But GGPlay as Man of Virtue? |
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 zeppelin United States. October 13 2009 09:32. Posts 309 | Profile |
| once during a jaedong game a fan held up a cheerful that said DISTROYER[sic] |
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| Waxangel United States. October 13 2009 09:34. Posts 4178 | Profile Blog |
On October 13 2009 09:28 Liquid`NonY wrote:
maybe it's less natural to give a nickname to someone who doesnt give himself a nickname (his game ID is same as given name)
and not giving into the childish practice of nicknames might indicate a higher level of respect
These would all certainly be possible for a hypothetical progamer, but there's nothing specific to Jaedong that would indicate this when compared to other pros. |
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| TheAntZ Bangladesh. October 13 2009 09:37. Posts 609 | Profile Blog |
On October 13 2009 09:27 soonsu wrote:
wasn't "Legend Killer" his nickname? if so, that's totally badass
Yeah I think Legend Killer is a pretty cool nickname...But now hes pretty much a living legend all of his own. |
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 GTR . October 13 2009 09:37. Posts 22424 | Profile Blog |
| technically jaedong's given name is 'jedong' lol |
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 Dasher United States. October 13 2009 09:38. Posts 56 | Profile Blog |
On October 13 2009 09:16 El.Divino wrote:
That's true.
Jaedong is kind of just his name. He's no dagger or maestro.
Maybe like Final Boss Zerg?
It seems as if that name would only fit after he falls. |
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