The History of Rhino

RHINO!

No. . . not that Rhino. I mean THIS Rhino!

See? It was an easy mistake to make, I'm sure.

Some of you may be wondering why I call Ryan "Rhino". Funny story, actually. See, it went a little something like this. . .

I remember the first time I ever talked to Ryan in person. We were lucky enough to get on the same soccer team way back in 2006. He was super shy and VERY antisocial. I decided right away that I liked him though, and did my best to pretend I was a super outgoing person so I could get to know him better.

After some talking and waiting ever so impatiently for our first soccer practice together to start, our coach came. We talked, we listened, and then we got to play. It took a while to really notice anything funny about him, but eventually I realized that Ryan ran in a very unique way. Whereas most people were either floppy-armed, uncoordinated, or super straight, Ryan charged.

I'm not talking "Oh, he was really fast, watch out", either. I'm talking full on, head down, body straight, stiff back, full sprint CHARGING. So basically, if you had the ball and you were on the opposite team, he looked like this. . .

Or maybe this better conveys how he was. . .

Of course, you can't have someone run like that and NOT give them the super snazzy nickname of "Rhino". I can't recall when I first told him that he greatly resembled a charging rhinoceros, or how long it took for it to stick, but I'm rather glad the name has stuck with him for so long. I mean, it's fitting if you think about it.

Rhinos are strong, Ryan's strong.

Rhinos are tough, Ryan can be sort of tough.

Rhinos are big, Ryan is big(tall).

Rhinos have dry, gray skin, Ryan has. . .um, the exact opposite.

And there you have it! The history of Rhino. Hopefully this was mildly entertaining and maybe even a little bit insightful as to how silly we really are. Love you, Ryan! ;]