Gideon "ESPN" Lampron: Bowling Green's One-of-a-Kind Football Player

Gideon Lampron, a 21-year-old football player at Bowling Green State University, has a name that commands attention: ESPN. Yes, you read that right—his middle name is literally the same as the sports network, written in all caps.

The story behind this unusual name dates back to his birth when his father, Marty Lampron, decided to sneak the name onto the birth certificate while his wife, Jennifer, was recovering. Initially, Marty had his heart set on naming his son after basketball legend Larry Bird, but Jennifer vetoed that idea. Instead, they settled on the distinctive middle name, pronounced ESS-pen.

"It was a big gamble," Marty reflected in a recent interview, acknowledging the risk of his son potentially pursuing a completely different path, perhaps even joining a band instead of playing football.

Fortune smiled on him. Gideon, hailing from LaGrange, Ohio, was an Ohio Mr. Football finalist during high school and later earned All-American honors at Dayton University before transferring to Bowling Green to compete at the FBS level.

Jennifer's reaction upon discovering her son's name on his social security card was one of disbelief. "I couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be real," she recalled. Yet, she has come to appreciate how well the name fits her son.

"I’m so proud of him," she stated. "I told him growing up that if he ever wanted to change his name, he could. But he always said, 'I love it.'" The couple had originally agreed on Xavier as a middle name, but Marty’s enthusiasm for ESPN was hard to ignore.

Jennifer humorously noted that if they had gone with "Espyn," they could have pretended it was Nordic. However, ESPN in all caps leaves little room for ambiguity.

"You should be happy I spelled Gideon correctly," Marty quipped to Jennifer, who can confirm that they are still happily married.

Gideon has fully embraced his unique name; he even added it to his X account and Bowling Green has included it on their official roster. The Falcons are part of the Mid-American Conference, which has a broadcasting deal with ESPN. This means that most of their games will be aired on ESPN’s networks or streamed online via ESPN Plus.

As fall approaches, Gideon is eager for what he calls "ESPN on ESPN." "I’m looking forward to MACtion," he said, ready to make his mark on the field while sharing a name with one of the biggest names in sports broadcasting.