What in the world is the name 'Cutch'??

by "Pretend Writer": Jeff Hartman

Since we've had the pleasure of welcoming such a stunning young puppy into our home, while we reside in Maryland people are constantly asking us, "What is his name? Clutch? Oh, Cutch. What does THAT mean?"

I preface that we live in Maryland on purpose. I am not from these parts, but from the small little village of Wheeling, WV. For those geographically challenged, Wheeling is located in the Northern panhandle (the part of WV that is pinched between Pennsylvania and Ohio) and is around 45 min to an hour south west of Pittsburgh, PA.

Since West Virginia has no professional sports teams, you can imagine that I was born to be a Pittsburgh fan. Following in my father's footsteps, I have worn the black and gold proudly for as long as I can remember, and even more so now that I live in Ravens and Capitals country. Don't worry, this will all make sense in terms of where the name comes from.

With my love for Pittsburgh sports so prominent within me, about 3 years ago I started my own blog, which turned into writing for a Pittsburgh message board, which turned into getting my first paid (if you call what I got actually getting paid) writing position with RantSports.com, to now covering the Steelers for the largest fan-lead Steelers site on the world wide web (http://behindthesteelcurtain.com - check it out if you are a Steelers fan).

Throughout my "pretend writing" journey, I started a twitter account and have amassed a very loyal group of followers. When Nicole and I found out that we were going to be getting a diabetic alert dog, we immediately started tossing around possible names, all geared around Pittsburgh sports icons. Names that were thought of: Franco, Troy, Sid, Geno, Ben (well that was just me, Nicole wouldn't let that even be put into the hat) and many other names.

As the night progressed she jokingly said, "Why don't you ask your stupid followers on Twitter? See what they think?" So I did, and to her surprise within minutes my phone was buzzing like crazy with people offering their names. Names like: Lou (for Polamalu), Tunch, Myron and even Joey amongst others.

We looked at the list and decided to narrow it down to three names and let Will choose. Quick sidebar: we had asked will all along what he wanted to name the dog and he would say "Silly". Since we weren't going to have this dog name be "Silly", we began this search. The final names were: Cutch, Beau, and Sid.

It didn't take long for Will to make his decision. Cutch. After all, he has heard me say that name enough times for it to ring a bell. "Cutch (k-u-ch)" is the nickname for the Pittsburgh Pirates' All-Star centerfielder, Andrew McCutchen (pictured above). McCutchen was the NL MVP last year, has made numerous all-star teams, won a gold glove and two silver slugger awards. Nonetheless, in Maryland only a handful of people know who the man is.

So there you have it, the story on how our dog got his name. Through natural selection, Will eventually picked "Cutch". It took some time for it to grow on us, but like the dog himself...if you meet him it just fits.