The Name Game

I want to name the baby Wyatt Matthew Burns - actually I thought we HAD named him that already....But Matt informed me this week that he wants to name the baby Wyatt Elway Burns.

He had mentioned this before...but I thought he was joking! Elway after John Elway - the Denver Broncos quarterback. Matt spent several of his formative years growing up in Denver, and has always been a Broncos fan. Anyone who knows him well, knows this fact. For his birthday this past year, I got him a cake that looked like a Broncos football helmet. Once we announced that we were having a boy - more than one of our friends celebrated by buying our little man Broncos paraphernalia....a baby baseball cap, a Broncos onesie, orange and blue burp cloths.

Furthermore, Matt just plain loves football. I mean bleeds the game. It's why he coaches. Just to keep one foot on the field. Mrs. Frasier, one of Matt's players mother, told me once that her son came home and said to her, "I love Coach Burns, Mom. He is insane. I think if someone told him he could play one more game, but he would have to do it without pads or a helmet...he would totally do it. That's how fired up he gets for us and every game." I laughed, but I had to agree with this kid. Matt would definitely play sans pads - no doubt about it.

So here's my dilemma - Wyatt Elway Burns??!! Really??!! I don't hate it, I just never imagined naming my son after a NFL player. After his father or grandfather, of course...a famous author, maybe. But John Elway? And then I think - why not Elway? Below is an excerpt from Elway's induction speech to the NFL Hall of Fame. If Wyatt grows up to say the following about Matthew - then I would be more than proud.

"My dad wasn't just my best friend, he was my hero, my mentor, my inspiration. He was the keeper of my reality check list, the compass that guided my life and my career, and he taught me the No. 1 lesson of my life - always make your family proud.... My dad didn't so much teach me how to play football but why to play. He taught me to compete, to never give up, to play every down like it's your last. He taught me to appreciate the game, to respect it, to play it like it was meant to be played. He taught me to enjoy my successes and learn from my failures."

I think what really gets me is Matt likes nicknames, and I don't. And Matt has already taken to calling the baby W.E.B. - what his initials would be. Like in Charlotte's Web! AGHHH. Anyhow, answer the poll below and let us know which name YOU like!

P.S. Schmela - you can't vote more than once, so don't bother trying!!