“I have ice in my veins” (cool under pressure)
Someone who is said to have “ice in his/her veins” is someone who is cool under pressure. “Ice in his veins” has been cited in print since at least the early 1900s, and has been used frequently in sports.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell scored 39 points against the Brooklyn Nets in a game on March 1, 2016 (the game finished on March 2nd on east coast time). After Russell connected on a three-point shot, he pointed to his arm and said, “Ice in my veins!” Russell would be traded to the Nets in 2017, where he continued to use the expression.
In an interview published in GQ magazine on December 16, 2016, D’Angelo Russell said:
“It’s something my dad said growing up. He always said you have to be prepared for big moments, you gotta have ice in your veins. You have to have no feelings. You have to go out there and play your hardest and do what you do. That was the celebration what I performed well and knowing he prepared me mentally. (...) There’s footage of me doing it in high school. I think we were playing on ESPN for the national tournament. I hit some clutch free throws and did it. I’ve always been running with that.”
“D’Angelo Russell got ice water in his veins” was posted on Twitter on January 22, 2015, when Russell played at the Ohio State University.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
to have —— (running) in one’s veins: used to suggest that a particular characteristic, attribute, or interest is ingrained in a person. Similarly with —— in one’s veins, etc. Cf. blood n. Phrases 2e.
1768 Gazetteer & New Daily Advertiser 25 Oct. Arbitrary principles, which were running through the veins of every proper officer in the nation.
1802 Orthodox Churchman’s Mag. Sept. 192 Knowing, as we do, the hereditary orthodoxy, which runs in his veins.
1912 Lowell (Mass.) Sun 4 Sept. 5/2 A department head or chief..with ice in his veins who will recommend the dismissal of a man of 70 who has served the government the best portion of his life.
Wikipedia: D’Angelo Russell
D’Angelo Danté Russell (born February 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes before being selected with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Playing point guard, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Twitter
Dal Presley 👳🏾♂️
@DalPresley
D’Angelo Russell got ice water in his veins
8:26 PM - 22 Jan 2015
Twitter
Matthew Penner
@mgpenner
D’angelo Russell has ice in his veins
9:00 PM - 22 Jan 2015
Twitter
Zac Barnett
@ZacLBarnett
D’Angelo Russell has ice running through his veins. Look me in the eyes and tell me he’s not the best player in the country.
7:21 PM - 19 Mar 2015
Twitter
Jordan Wilkerson
@Jwilk_47
I told EVERYONE D’Angelo Russell was the best freshman in the country and nobody believed me! The man has ice water in his veins!
12:29 AM - 7 Apr 2015
Twitter
KMC
@Kbookid
D’Angelo says he has “Ice in his veins”. Lmfao
12:47 AM - 2 Mar 2016
YouTube
Lakers Rookie D’Angelo Russell Scores 39, ‘Ice In My Veins’ Celebration
Lakers Nation
Published on Mar 1, 2016
Los Angeles Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell scored a career-high 39 points and has an “ice in my veins” celebration go viral.
ESPN
Russell gets 39 points, Lakers end skid with win over Nets
Mar 2, 2016
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES—After D’Angelo Russell stopped well behind the line and drilled his eighth 3-pointer in the final seconds, he pointed at his forearm and mouthed his words clearly enough for all of Hollywood to understand.
“Ice!” the 20-year-old rookie said. “In my veins!”
2 March 2016, Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), “D’Angelo Russell scores 39, carries Lakers over Nets; Kobe Bryant sits out” by Mark Medina, pg. ?:
When Russell made a 3-pointer that gave the Lakers an 82-76 lead with 10:32 left in the fourth quarter, Russell high-fived a kid sitting in a courtside seat. After Russell mad is his 27-footer that secured a 103-97 cushion with 30.8 seconds left, Russell rubbed his fingers on his right arm and yelled, “I have ice in my veins.” Clarkson and Roy Hibbert (14 points) soon hugged him.
“I was running out of celebrations,” Russell said. “I thought of one. That was the first thing on my mind.”
Twitter
Mike Trudell
@LakersReporter
D’Angelo Russell got the “ice water in my veins“ thing from his father, who used to say it all the time.
6:52 PM - 2 Mar 2016
YouTube
D’Angelo Russell Deep Three|I got ice in my veins|
EliteSports
Published on Mar 2, 2016
Repost from Bleacher Report. This is just for entertainment.
GQ
D’Angelo Russell Reveals Where His “Ice in My Veins” Celebration Came From
BY ALEX WONG
December 16, 2016
(...)
Where did the “ice in my veins” celebration come from?
It’s something my dad said growing up. He always said you have to be prepared for big moments, you gotta have ice in your veins. You have to have no feelings. You have to go out there and play your hardest and do what you do. That was the celebration what I performed well and knowing he prepared me mentally.
(...)
When did you first pull out that celebration?
There’s footage of me doing it in high school. I think we were playing on ESPN for the national tournament. I hit some clutch free throws and did it. I’ve always been running with that.
NetsDaily
Ice in their veins! World Cup winners shout out D’Angelo Russell.
By Net Income Jul 15, 2018, 11:11pm EDT
We interrupt our obsessive coverage of Nets free agency for a brief public service announcement. DLo’s “ice in my veins” is an international phenomenon!
French TV cameras caught two of the stars of France’s World Cup champions, Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, celebrating their victory by pointing to their wrists and telling the camera they had “ice in my veins” ... then shouting out D’Angelo Russell.
Twitter
YES Network
@YESNetwork
❄️ “Ice. That’s all I see.” ❄️
@Dloading drops a 40-piece on the Magic as the @BrooklynNets mount ANOTHER epic comeback.
1:13
#NETSonYES
YESNetwork.com has all the latest news on the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Nets, and NYCFC.
9:30 PM - 18 Jan 2019