Carbondale Nickname Madness has been running wild! We’re down to the final four: Chinky Moran, Bubba Thomas, Jigger Jordan, and Turk Cerminaro.
We reached out to organizer, Landon Gabriel who broke down the competition for us. We also spoke with John “Jigger” Jordan about the history of the “Jigger” nickname.
Press Release by Landon Gabriel:
“Jigger” Jordan vs “Turk” Cerminaro
The road “Jigger” traveled: “Jigger” found his way to the Final Four by rolling through the East Side Region, including a convincing victory over proven winner and #2 seed Leo “Scooby” Skorupa. One “Jigger” is a former mayor who knows how to win the vote of his people. Another “Jigger” is a detective who always has an ear to the ground, observing tendencies and patterns of his opposition. And now, both skills will be put to the test against fierce competition!
Question left to be answered: Can the “Jigger” Jordans, a true family nickname, use the size of their entourage to gather enough votes to advance against these nickname heavyweights?
The migration of “Turk”: “Turk” Cerminaro’s path to the Final Four was hard to predict. Many experts saw the Simpson Bracket as the toughest to navigate. It’s safe to say now, “Turk” was underestimated. He left some of the best nicknames in his dust as he flew through to the Final Four. He sent a message with a dominant performance against “Tick” Totsky in the regional final! He will need to show the same strength to advance against such fierce competition!
Question to be answered: Can “Turk” continue to dominate when he leaves the friendly confines of Simpson and crosses over the viaduct to compete with other Carbondale nicknames?
“Bubba” Thomas vs “Chinky” Moran
The path of “Bubba”: “Bubba” found his way to the Final Four by bulldozing through the Russell Park Region! That is no small accomplishment! Keep in mind, in the Russell Park Region, you are more likely to remember the name of a competitor’s childhood pet goldfish he won at the Little League Carnival than you are to know that competitor’s actual first name! Bubba recently advanced to the Final Four with a voter turnout into the 400s in a landslide victory over 1 seed “Shadow” Sanderson. He will need every bit of that support to advance to the championship!
Question left to be answered: Can “Bubba” and his social media popularity carry him through a matchup with a local bar owner?
How “Chinky” arrived: Undoubtedly the most battle tested of our Final Four competitors, “Chinky” took down a tournament favorite and 1 seed “Yoda” Daley in the second round with a huge, late game comeback! And then, in the match of the tournament, “Chinky” took down “Doc” Smedley by roughly 40 in a back and forth competition that approached 1,000 total votes before the 10pm deadline! He will need another strong showing to be successful today!
Question left to be answered: Can “Chinky” unify the large groups of followers from the West Side Region that were forced to pick sides in some of his epic showdowns?