Gardner Minshew II's Dad Named His Son Gardner II Without The Existence of a Gardner I, While His Grandfather Wanted Him Named BEOWULF
NFL.com
Flint Minshew wanted to name his son Gardner II — without the existence of a Gardner I.
His father, Billy, wanted his grandson to be named Beowulf.
This is how Gardner Minshew started his life — and it’s how he’s starting his NFL career. Like the name he bears, Minshew’s path to the NFL kind of defies logic. Like the name he might’ve had, the former Washington State Cougar is a growing legend.
Gardner Minshew II has quickly become everyone’s favorite football player. Everything about him is incredible from his mustache, to his play on the field, to his outfit, and now his name.
As you can see Minshew’s name has a roman numeral attached to it. That would lead you to believe he’s the second Gardner Minshew in his family, with either his father or grandfather being the first. Nope, it just turns out Flint, Gardner’s dad, thought it would be cool to throw “II” at the end of his name. No rhyme or reasoning behind it, just confuse the fuck out of everyone and give his son a cool name. Incredible. It’s a move I might have to pick up myself. Whatever I name my son he’s getting a “III” at the end. Done deal. End of story.
Maybe the craziest part of all of this is that his grandfather wanted Gardner to be named BEOWULF. Could you imagine an NFL quarterback named BEOWULF MINSHEW II??? Game over. Give him the MVP and a $300 million fully guaranteed contract no questions asked.
My friends and I have a theory where any player with a roman numeral is automatically good. Patrick Mahomes II. Todd Gurley II. Melvin Gordon III. John Ross III. Robert Griffin III. Mark Ingram II. Will Fuller V. Chris Herndon IV. Willie Snead IV. Golden Tate III. Allen Robinson II. Phillip Dorsett II. It’s a science. Add a roman numeral to your name and you’ll be a star. Laurent Duvernay Tardif was trying to get MD on his jersey because he’s now a doctor. That’s just incredible.
Jack Mac wrote a whole thing on Minshew II and the perfection behind everything he is. Give that a read.
P.S. As I looked into some bizarre names I came across. Equanimeous Tristan Imhotep J. St. Brown. The St. in his name has nothing to do with a passed down name. His dad just wanted that to be in there so he threw it in with Equanimeous and all his brothers.