Jimbo Fisher, Bobby Petrino look to relieve pressure at Texas A&M - ESPN
ESPN COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- John James Fisher Jr. frequently found himself in trouble for not listening when he started the first grade in his hometown of Clarksburg, West Virginia.
His teacher, Mrs. Moore, would call on "John" in class, and he wouldn't respond, wouldn't follow directions and wouldn't do what he was told.
"I was getting whippings, getting put in the corner, all that," Fisher recalled of his school days in the early 1970s.
Finally, Fisher's aunt, Juanita (or Ninny as he called her), went to his teacher to see if she could help with the situation. Juanita worked at the school as an assistant to the principal.
"I think we need to get your nephew John's hearing tested," Mrs. Moore told Juanita.
"John?" Juanita repeated. "Try calling him Jimbo and see what happens."
Problem solved.
"My aunt is the one who gave me the name 'Jimbo,'" Fisher said. "As soon as she heard that my teacher was calling me John, she knew what was wrong. I was never called John by anybody at home. So it wasn't that I wasn't listening or couldn't hear.
