Thursday, March 27, 2008

Jerry Smith

That's my name. But mine's spelled differently. The odds of a famous "Jere Smith" are slim (although there's an artist from Seattle with my name who does the kind of stuff people might think I'd do anyway, as well as a thoroughbred trainer with my name, who, like me, shares a name with his father. Interestingly, my dad Jere Smith's brother, son of my grandfather Jere Smith, has also spent his life around horses.)

So if I want to hear my name on TV and pretend they're talking about me, I have to settle for people named "Jerry Smith." There was the famous football player who died of AIDS. And there's a golfer, a judge, and an activist author.

But finally there's a Jerry Smith in the sports world in my era. This one plays basketball for Louisville. He's playing right now. Do you know how surreal it is to hear Dick Enberg say that YOU are "so fundamentally sound"? Hey! Just now, "steal by Jere Smith!" (In my mind, it was spelled like that.) This is awesome. My friend Mike alerted me to this dude last year, but this is the first time I'm seeing him in action for an extended period of time. I hope he goes pro. It's funny, there are other Smiths in this game, so they have to specify and say the full name every time.

I just keep thinking of that Simpsons where Homer's watching TV and a new series with a main character named Homer Simpson comes on. I think this is one of my lifelong dreams. Do any of you share a name with a famous person? Can you give me any advice on what to expect in this crazy new world?

Comments:
Allan Wood (born May 16, 1943) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won two bronze medals in the 400 m and 1500 m freestyle events at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

There is also a woodworking dude and an actor who didn't get much work.

Letterman musician Paul Shaffer was apparently born "Paul Allen Wood Shaffer", but I have also seen it spelled Allan and I have read that he was born Allan Wood and changed his name to Paul Shaffer. Which seems odd. I'd guess the 4-name name is correct. But since I find him so annoying, I hope none of it is true.

The end.
 

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