With the budding superstardom of Royals reliever Joakim Soria comes the sort of DIY merchandising that puts Wrigley’s “I’ve Got A Hard On For Harden” tees to shame. The New York Times’ Benjamin Hoffman quizzed three ardent Royals followers about Soria’s nickname, “The Mexicutioner”, and attempts to cash in on such.
I like the name, though I must say that it has a cottage industry in town to take credit for it. That part™s annoying, especially because it does seem that Rany came up with it. In any case, the name is fun.
I™m thrilled for Rany™s blog, but I™m not wild about the nickname™s undertones (even though Soria supposedly doesn™t mind at all).
I think I™m more in shock than anything else, that a nickname that started on my blog has become the industry standard inside of two months. All credit for that has to go to Bob Dutton, who inserted the nickname into his game recaps at every opportunity until the name caught on. The only concern I™d have with the Mexicutioner is if Soria was offended by the name, but he™s evidently not. The t-shirts are overtly commercial, but the design is pretty cool.