Colorado Unretiring 3 Numbers After Requests From Recruits

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The families of the players approved it.

Having said that it seems like a strange thing to do just because a kid wants a number.

I also worry this is how you get angry undead football players....
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
The families of the players approved it.

Having said that it seems like a strange thing to do just because a kid wants a number.

I also worry this is how you get angry undead football players....
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I suppose it has less to do with angry undead players than it has to do with honoring a commitment to remember forever the contributions of a great teammate. You retire a number as an everlasting tribute to an individual's greatness. It's a way of saying "we'll never forget you."

I guess in the end they didn't retire the numbers as much as they put the numbers on hiatus until they managed to forget about the players they had intended to honor.
 

Hotdish said:
As a fan, I am definitely not a fan of this. Hopefully the gophers never even consider such a thing.

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...lorado-unretiring-3-numbers-requests-recruits
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Found this interesting bit from the story:
"Those three players will still be honored through a patch that will appear on the jerseys, bearing their names and the years they played for Colorado."

I actually kind of like this idea and the players that had their numbers retired seem to agree. Seems to me that you honor the player more then you honor the number that player wore while there. I get that the two are linked but the reality is the name should mean way more then the number. And now when future players wear that number there will be a constant reminder of a great player that came before them who also wore that number at the school.
 

I think they should require the players to legally change their name to the name associated with the retired jersey. .. then they can have the number.
 


As time moves on, you're going to see more of this. This is why you're going to see more and more retiring a player's jersey, not their number.
 
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I think it's kind of cool. I've never heard of the 3 guys before. However, everybody that watches a game when a player with that number makes a play will know about them via the announces and their need to fill time. It's kind of like when Michigan let Devin Gardner (QB) wear Harmon's 98 a few years back. I'd never been aware of Harmon and his story until then.
 

OddStack said:
I think it's kind of cool. I've never heard of the 3 guys before. However, everybody that watches a game when a player with that number makes a play will know about them via the announces and their need to fill time. It's kind of like when Michigan let Devin Gardner (QB) wear Harmon's 98 a few years back. I'd never been aware of Harmon and his story until then.
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Well said. And you are right that this will actually bring more attention to those historic players because announcers will use it as a way to fill time.
 

I'm actually a big fan of this.

It sounds like they worked out a cool compromise to have the players name and years on a patch on the jersey.

I think it brings those memories back to life when you see the number on the concourse of the stadium or the rafters of the arena, and also get a chance to see that number in action on the field/court/ice.
 



I generally dislike the practice of "retiring" jerseys. I'd rather see alternatives by honoring a player in conjunction with their jerseys and any time a jersey is retired it is known up front it is for a period of time - maybe 2 years, or 4 years, or 10 years. Whatever, just make it known that they will be back in circulation at some point.

In a weird way, new guys wearing jersey numbers of historic ex-players actually creates a way to honor them MORE. It reminds me of the old greats when I see their numbers in use.
 

Schnauzer said:
I generally dislike the practice of "retiring" jerseys. I'd rather see alternatives by honoring a player in conjunction with their jerseys and any time a jersey is retired it is known up front it is for a period of time - maybe 2 years, or 4 years, or 10 years. Whatever, just make it known that they will be back in circulation at some point.

In a weird way, new guys wearing jersey numbers of historic ex-players actually creates a way to honor them MORE. It reminds me of the old greats when I see their numbers in use.
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I agree 100%. It is pretty sweet when certain teams have established a legacy with a certain number. USC #1, Dallas Cowboys #88, etc.

What better way for the U to honor Tyler Johnson than to give his #6 to a top WR recruit? To me, that is telling the kid we expect you to fulfill his jersey in every possible way and be the student-athlete that Tyler was.
 

MNfootballfan said:
I agree 100%. It is pretty sweet when certain teams have established a legacy with a certain number. USC #1, Dallas Cowboys #88, etc.

What better way for the U to honor Tyler Johnson than to give his #6 to a top WR recruit? To me, that is telling the kid we expect you to fulfill his jersey in every possible way and be the student-athlete that Tyler was.
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I kind of like what Michigan does with #98, where you have to prove yourself first before you will be given that number. Something you might give to a great player who stays for their senior season or something similar as an honor.
 

Schnauzer said:
I generally dislike the practice of "retiring" jerseys. I'd rather see alternatives by honoring a player in conjunction with their jerseys and any time a jersey is retired it is known up front it is for a period of time - maybe 2 years, or 4 years, or 10 years. Whatever, just make it known that they will be back in circulation at some point.

In a weird way, new guys wearing jersey numbers of historic ex-players actually creates a way to honor them MORE. It reminds me of the old greats when I see their numbers in use.
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I agree 100%. College football is especially hard since you need so many numbers.
The Twins, in my opinion, have a ridiculous number of jerseys retired too.
 



OddStack said:
I think it's kind of cool. I've never heard of the 3 guys before. However, everybody that watches a game when a player with that number makes a play will know about them via the announces and their need to fill time. It's kind of like when Michigan let Devin Gardner (QB) wear Harmon's 98 a few years back. I'd never been aware of Harmon and his story until then.
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Byron R “Whizzer” White was an All-American RB and Heisman Runner-Up at CU in 1937. Was a 3 sport athlete for the Buffs and grew up in Wellington, CO. Led nation in rushing and averaged 31 yards on punt returns his Senior year. Had a career in the NFL and later would be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Kennedy in 1962. He was involved in a number of landmark court cases. (Miranda v Arizona / Roe v Wade / NCAA v Oklahoma to name a few).
 

Buck_Buchanan said:
Byron R “Whizzer” White was an All-American RB and Heisman Runner-Up at CU in 1937. Was a 3 sport athlete for the Buffs and grew up in Wellington, CO. Led nation in rushing and averaged 31 yards on punt returns his Senior year. Had a career in the NFL and later would be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Kennedy in 1962. He was involved in a number of landmark court cases. (Miranda v Arizona / Roe v Wade / NCAA v Oklahoma to name a few).
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Busy guy!
 

When I was boy, I remember wondering what would happen if sports teams kept retiring numbers. Wouldn’t some teams start to run out of numbers? Looks like it’s starting to happen. :D
 

Word said:
I agree 100%. College football is especially hard since you need so many numbers.
The Twins, in my opinion, have a ridiculous number of jerseys retired too.
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I also agree with Schnauzer. I'm sure that I would be reminded of the greatness of Paul Giel, Sandy Stephens, Bronco Nagurski and Bobby Bell more frequently if I were to see a Gopher player wearing #10, 15, 72, or 78. I've also thought that the New York Yankees will eventually run out of one and two digit jersey numbers. Of course, all teams will at some point have to face that situation, but it seems the Yankees would be first.
 

Goldmember said:
When I was boy, I remember wondering what would happen if sports teams kept retiring numbers. Wouldn’t some teams start to run out of numbers? Looks like it’s starting to happen. :D
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Beat me to it Goldmember
 

denguegopher said:
I also agree with Schnauzer. I'm sure that I would be reminded of the greatness of Paul Giel, Sandy Stephens, Bronco Nagurski and Bobby Bell more frequently if I were to see a Gopher player wearing #10, 15, 72, or 78. I've also thought that the New York Yankees will eventually run out of one and two digit jersey numbers. Of course, all teams will at some point have to face that situation, but it seems the Yankees would be first.
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#15 and #78 are retired jerseys for Stephens and Bell but the numbers are still in use (currently it is Clark and Faalele).

The only numbers we seem to have retired for football are:
#10 - Giel
#54 - Smith
#72 - Nagurski

But I would be all for seeing those numbers back in circulation again. You can still honor the player even if you allow someone else to wear their number.
 

Never understood why teams couldn't retire (honor) a player's jersey without retiring the number. The jersey has their name on the back. Would it, really, be any less of an honor to see your jersey in the rafters next to some other great player who wore the same number you had?
 

MNVCGUY said:
Found this interesting bit from the story:
"Those three players will still be honored through a patch that will appear on the jerseys, bearing their names and the years they played for Colorado."

I actually kind of like this idea and the players that had their numbers retired seem to agree. Seems to me that you honor the player more then you honor the number that player wore while there. I get that the two are linked but the reality is the name should mean way more then the number. And now when future players wear that number there will be a constant reminder of a great player that came before them who also wore that number at the school.
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Yes. And what about all the great players at a program, who didn't rise to some "level" to have their number retired? Are we dishonoring them by allowing a player to wear their number?

We need the numbers.

I get it's a traditional and a tribute and all that. But, maybe this isn't so bad as it might seem on the surface ....
 


MNVCGUY said:
#15 and #78 are retired jerseys for Stephens and Bell but the numbers are still in use (currently it is Clark and Faalele).

The only numbers we seem to have retired for football are:
#10 - Giel
#54 - Smith
#72 - Nagurski

But I would be all for seeing those numbers back in circulation again. You can still honor the player even if you allow someone else to wear their number.
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Thanks, I read this online. Don't believe everything you read on the internet...https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=University+of+Minnesota+retired+football+numbers
 

I’m for “Ring of Honor” with names and having option for Award Recipients, if underclassmen, option to wear the number the following season as a way of representing the Award. For example, Ibrahim won Paul Giel Award for 2019. As part of winning that reward, give the option of wearing #10. If Senior or early draft entry wins it, number stays retired for a year. Maybe a dumb idea but something maybe different?
 

I like the soccer model where numbers are associated with icons within the club or are for a specific position.
Being the “number 10” or wearing the “number 7” is an honor. I could see numbers that have had consistent high performers being of some clout and honor to wear in this model.

honor the player with a ring of honor or some other remembrance.
 

Schnauzer said:
I generally dislike the practice of "retiring" jerseys. I'd rather see alternatives by honoring a player in conjunction with their jerseys and any time a jersey is retired it is known up front it is for a period of time - maybe 2 years, or 4 years, or 10 years. Whatever, just make it known that they will be back in circulation at some point.

In a weird way, new guys wearing jersey numbers of historic ex-players actually creates a way to honor them MORE. It reminds me of the old greats when I see their numbers in use.
Click to expand...

Agree, and would add that great players like Tyler Johnson couldn't even lay claim to their own number on their own team due to the need for lots of numbers. Tough enough as a fan to keep track of two or three duplicate numbers on a team, I don't need there to be a dozen because we take 10 numbers off the board.

Plus it's just more pictures every day for the preseason countdown post!!!!
 

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