It's long been a joke among NFL writers that you know you're in the club when you can type "Nnamdi Asomugha," and your spell-check doesn't skip a beat. The former Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback, who signed a one-year, $1.35 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers on April 2, is trying to stick on a very deep defensive roster and hopes to win a championship before his esteemed career comes to an end. Asomugha's getting used to San Francisco's smart and aggressive defense, but it seems that his new teammates are getting used to a name that's quite difficult to spell without a cheat sheet.
And in honor of Thursday's Scripps National Spelling Bee, won by 13-year-old Arvind Mahankali, the 49ers' media team decided to take to the locker room to see just how many ace spellers could nail the name of their new teammate.
It wasn't pretty at all.
Cornerback Carlos Rogers didn't really even try, second-year receiver A.J. Jenkins got as far as "N," despite the fact that Asomugha has already given him the correct spelling, and offensive lineman Joe Looney looked like he wanted to run away. Superstar linebacker Patrick Willis tripped over himself after a few letters, fullback Bruce Miller cheated with "A-W-E-S-O-M-E," and running back LaMichael James looked exceptionally confused.
Leave it to quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose last name has broken a few spell-checkers along the way, to nail it on the first try. Well-done!