Alexi Lalas Reminds Christian Pulisic Of The First Rule Of Nicknames

We're a few weeks away from a worldwide bout with World Cup fever, and the United States Men's National Team will be in the thick of it. Headlining the United States squad will be Chelsea star Christian "Captain America" Pulisic.

While he has made it clear he isn't fond of that nickname, former US soccer star Alexi Lalas thinks he should lean into it.

"Christian Pulisic not liking Captain America is gonna make a lot of people call him Captain America more," Lalas told TMZ Sports. "He Needs to understand that you don't get to pick your nickname."

He's right about this. It's rule No. 1 with nicknames. If you get a bad nickname like "Turd Burglar" or "Fat Ass," don't let anyone know you hate it. If you do, you'll buy yourself several decades of that name at everything function you attend. Reunions, weddings, and — God forbid — funerals.

No, you just ignore it. You don't talk about how you hate it in an article for GQ like Christian "Captain America" Pulisic did.

“I'm not a big fan of being called that, to be honest—especially by my teammates,” Captain America said.

Lalas hit the nail on the head on that one. To put it in soccer terms, he booted a ball from just outside the box and drilled the crossbar (that's still considered a good shot in soccer).

Christian "Captain America" Pulisic will lead the US Men's National Soccer Team as they try to redeem themselves after missing out completely on the 2018 World Cup.

The Americans open their World Cup slate on November 21 against Wales (yes, Wales) in Qatar.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle

Written by
Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.