An online username is not only a unique way to identify someone on a service, it can also define who that person is. Check out the stories of how DRULcrew came up with their usernames for gaming.
sho220 / Jack
I was on my way to a wedding, but really wanted to sign up for XBL. It was difficult to decide on a gamertag since everything I wanted was taken. I thought about driving to the wedding that I was about to be late for, and boom, it hit me. My car at the time was a Ford Taurus SHO. Many people don’t know about Taurus SHO. Ford first released SHO in 1989 as a 4 door sedan that was only available in manual, with a Yamaha (yes, Yamaha) 3.0L V6 DOHC engine that output 220hp and 200lb/ft torque. Thus, sho220 was born.
sho220 is pronounced ‘show two twenty’, or ‘s-h-o two twenty’, not ‘SHOE’, like the things you wear on your feet.
truOZ / Oscar
My gamertag derives from two different places so it’s best we break down where each part. Back in 2005 I was playing a game called Maple Story with a few friends from school. As any social online game goes, you run into some people with shared interests. This was how I met Jeff (one lazy individual). Months later as I prepared myself to go on a journey to Tyria (Guild Wars) with my new found friends, I had auto-generated a name because I didn’t have a go-to alias yet. I don’t remember what that name was as it was short lived. Everyone ignored that name and because we were all friends they just typed out “Oscar”. Jeff got tired of writing my name and said, “I can’t play this game and type at the same time, I need to focus, so when I have to call you, I’ll just write OZ instead, is that okay?” Ever since then, the name stuck and sadly even this was short lived since Jeff was so hardcore into the game that he didn’t want to type anything at all and bought a chat-based server for us.
Most sites don’t allow two character usernames, so “tru” was born. Why tru instead of true? I have no clue, honestly it just seemed more original and felt right. But why “true” at all? This goes back to a motivational poster that read “Be true to yourself” that I would always see in the hallways of my school.
Ac30fSpad3s 13 / Juan
My gamer tag may seem generic but it actually does have a deeper meaning than what it appears. One night my father was in cloud nine and decided to give me a narrative while we were playing Spanish Cards. Though these cards have different designs than regular playing cards, they are parallel: spades are swords, hearts are cups (more like chalices), diamonds are gold coins, and clubs are clubs. Juan Sr pulled out the lone sword. “La Espada”, he said. It is the strongest of all the swords. It has to be alone because it has to lead. Lead all who need guidance through the bull crap we go through. “Don’t be a sucker, be a motherf@##%$”, he shouts. Just because you are helping people doesn’t mean you let them take advantage of you. “Separate yourself! Become your own card. Don’t be a follower. Become a leader. Lead your swords to cut through all the booshet (bullshit).
This story was filled with all sorts of profanities and jokes but the message is clear. Be the one who leads. Represent yourself and your people. Lead by becoming yourself. I say the “Juan and only”. It’s a cheesy phrase but it’s a reminder of the ideology. The lone sword, the Ace of Spades. As far as the number 13 it was my first assigned number. I got it from playing youth baseball. Together it gives my gamer tag. A name that is encrypted with numeric characters to differentiate it from those who are similar. Ac30fSpad3s 13
