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Roger Federer, Swiss Maestro, Young Father, Et Al: Please Stop The Synonyms!
Published: January 19, 2011
In the span of nine paragraphs, Federer is referred to 13 times by something other than his given name. The synonyms include record-breaking Grand Slam champion, young father, world No. 2, former world No. 1, the Swiss, Swiss maestro, and French-speaking.
Simon receives similar treatment. Five times his real name gets bypassed in favor of young father, Frenchman, French-speaking, and slender Frenchman.
These monikers make it almost impossible to follow the action. Instead of figuring out who won the fourth set, I got stuck deciphering which French-speaking man had “spindly legs.”
Sports writing has developed a monopoly on clichés. The list of synonyms used in place of athletes’ names is endless.
We’ve got hoopsters and oarsmen and batsmen and hurlers and grinders and No. 1 draft picks and Baltimore natives and gridiron greats and gangly juniors and redheads and mothers-to-be and Duke graduates and hard-charging fullbacks and doubles specialists and switch-hitting rookies from Omaha.
Whatever happened to using real names? I’ve never read of the Honolulu-born president or former University of Chicago Law professor signing bills into law. If Barack Obama can be Barack Obama or President Obama or just Obama, can’t Roder Federer be Roger Federer or just Federer, and not the French-speaking Swiss Maestro?
When elementary school teachers write reports cards, do they refer to their kids as nose pickers and bright-eyed cherubs and budding academics? Or do they just write Alice and Frank and Angela?
Southpaw may be the one exception here, as the synonym most commonly associated wit...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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