Every Group of Friends Needs Someone Named "Bubba"
On today's Pardon My Take... BUBBA WATSON! The two-time Masters Champion joined Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter on today's show to discuss his new book, "Up & Down," winning the biggest tournament in the world (twice), his Georgia Bulldogs, and much more. The guys also got into it regarding the name "Bubba." Since his real name is Gerry Lester Watson Jr., the origin story came up on how Bubba got that name (being a chubby baby). But the full details were released below and the moral of the story is, every group of friends needs a Bubba.
Mr. Cat: Have you ever felt like you're a bit of a fraud with the nickname, "Bubba" because you're skinny?
Bubba Watson: Oh man, fraud?
Mr. Cat: I mean, Bubba's are kind of big guys, right?
Bubba Watson: Well see, that's judging again.
Mr. Cat: Alright, that is judging, let's talk about it.
Bubba Watson: That's a sensitive subject. Let me answer this, though. So, when I was born, I was chubby, and so, my parents , my mom said I look like a football player, and I know him from Police Academy, but Bubba Smith was coming through, he was playing ball in '78, when I was born. And so, I know him from Police Academy, but Bubba Smith, so he was the guy at the time, right? And so, my mom said, "Aw, we got a Bubba." Ands so, it just stuck ever since that 30 seconds I first came out of the womb.
Mr. Cat: It might be the best nickname that you can have, like when you think of the list of nicknames, Bubba is such a great nickname.
Bubba Watson: I mean, you know how many people would make fun of me if I went with Gerry Lester?
Mr. Cat: Yeah, we were talking about that earlier, it's tough.
Mr. Commenter: I was going to ask you about the nickname. And then I saw your full name, and I was like, "Well, it's pretty obvious why he goes by Bubba." Bubba is a cool name.
Bubba Watson: Yeah, I seem tough with Bubba.
Mr. Cat: (pointing to Liam): Well, his name is Liam, and we just decided to call him Bubba because we're like, "Every crew should use a Bubba, you know?"
Bubba Watson: Right, everybody needs one.
Mr. Cat: Yeah, having a Bubba around makes your life better.
Bubba Watson: It just makes you seem tougher.
Mr. Commenter: It also makes you seem friendly, like, you can't be mad at Bubba. That's just Bubba.
Mr. Cat: You call a Bubba, Bubba will just hang, you know, Bubba will watch the dogs on a Saturday and just hang.
I was lucky enough to be in the room with not one, but TWO guys named Bubba. I will never forget where I was for this iconic moment. But I agree with Big Cat, it's also nice to have someone named Bubba around. One of the best nicknames out there.