Late last year, two simple words took over the Australian cricketing world: ‘Niiiiice Garry’.
Nearly every time 29-year-old off-spinner Nathan Lyon bowled the ball, teammate and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade would yell the phrase. The nickname originated from Garry Lyon, the AFL legend and broadcaster, who has absolutely no relation to Nathan Lyon.
Of course, it quickly caught on, because Australians are nothing if not fans of a nickname that makes little to no sense.
In December 2016, the name was trending on Twitter, was turned into countless memes, was printed on T-Shirts, and became the theme of many Facebook groups.
Fans tried to break a world record during the Boxing Day Test by yelling it in unison.
But the moment Lyon realised the nickname had reached a whole new level had nothing to do with his fans. Instead, it was a conversation with his now three-year-old daughter Harper that showed him ‘Niiiiice Garry’ was always going to stick.
Speaking to Fox Sports, the father-of-two said, “I remember I went up to Harper and said ‘Dad’s got to go to the cricket, I’ll see you when Dad gets home tomorrow’. And she goes ‘okay, love you, good night … good luck Dad'”.