This came to mind when I found out that DL Cameron Heyward out of Ohio State went with the second-to-last pick in the first round of the NFL draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Heyward is the son of the late Craig “Iron Head” Heyward, a RB that was with the Rams for one season. But the elder Heyward’s biggest contribution to society was making it safe for all us straight men to use those “thingeys.” As you can see, the above ad used film from his practices as a Ram.
The younger Mr. Heyward was one of three men with the first name “Cameron” to be drafted in the first round yesterday, including the #1 pick overall. Since NFL draftees must be at least three years removed from their senior year of high school, this means that draftees are somewhere between 20 and 23 years old. There must have been a fad of parents naming their newborn sons “Cameron” in the 1988 to 1991 time frame — I was alive and coherent then, but I can’t remember any reason why “Cameron” was popular. Maybe Kirk Cameron, whose big claim to fame was playing the problematic firstborn son on the ABC sitcom “Growing Pains,” which was going strong in that period, but that’s my best guess. That all three Camerons drafted yesterday are black probably borks this theory, because I hardly think “Growing Pains” was appointment television for too many blacks.
