Should Bruschi's jersey number be retired?

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Sure I know we can't retire everyone's jersey number but Bruschi is beyond a special player forever in Patriots history and a sure fire Patriots HOFer as soon as he gets in.

Question remains,Should #54 be forever after,never to be worn again?

I certainly would be very pissed off if we had a player don that number again,especially if its in the near future - Tedy deserves the honor and BB should hopefully feel this way

I was not happy when Seau grabbed Willie's number immediately after Willie was gone but Seau has been a superstar player in this league with a lot of class which helped me understand that move.

 

[Deus Irae]

This was talked about in an earlier thread. The Patriots are no longer going to retire numbers of players unless they get into the NFL Hall of Fame.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Sure I know we can't retire everyone's jersey number but Bruschi is beyond a special player forever in Patriots history and a sure fire Patriots HOFer as soon as he gets in.

Question remains,Should #54 be forever after,never to be worn again?

I certainly would be very pissed off if we had a player don that number again,especially if its in the near future - Tedy deserves the honor and BB should hopefully feel this way

There's the fan answer, and the NFL answer.

The fan answer: absolutely.

The NFL answer: there are 53 men on a roster, and rules regarding who can wear what. The NFL does not want teams retiring numbers except possibly for HOF players such as Brady (when he finally retires, of course).

If the NFL allowed numbers in the hundreds, I'd say absolutely. But, given the practicalities, I'd have to say no. But he certainly should be honored, and that soon.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

This was talked about in an earlier thread. The Patriots are no longer going to retire numbers of players unless they get into the NFL Hall of Fame.

If it wasn't a seperate thread I missed it

 

[jefmblrd]

He'll wear the red blazer as an automatic Patriots HOFer, and that will be a fitting tribute. I don't think they should retire numbers.

 

[Deus Irae]

If it wasn't a seperate thread I missed it

Kraft the Younger talked about it during an interview.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

He'll wear the red blazer as an automatic Patriots HOFer, and that will be a fitting tribute. I don't think they should retire numbers.

Like I said about Seau, I can hope that if the Patriots give #54 to a player in the coming years it will be a player that will play with his heart bigger than his head like Tedy was - I certainly hope a guy like a Monte Beisel or another JAG doesn't wear it,If Brian Urlacher came here then I would more than allow it .

 

[Pats Fanatic]

I love Bruschi but you can't retire all the great numbers from this run (80, 55, 93 and so on). I personally think that only two number should be retired thous being 73 and 12 and that is it.

 

[Pujo]

Retiring jerseys in the NFL is a terrible idea and I wish teams wouldn't do it at all.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Retiring jerseys in the NFL is a terrible idea and I wish teams wouldn't do it at all.

So if a rule came out and they never retired jerseys again and in 7 years from now if a QB starts on this team and plays like Hugh Millen and he is wearing number #12 that is O.K. with you?

 

[AzPatsFan]

So if they never retired jerseys and in 7 years from now if a QB starts on this team and plays like Hugh Millen and he is wearing number #12 that is O.K. with you?

Yes !!!

 

[Gwedd]

So if a rule came out and they never retired jerseys again and in 7 years from now if a QB starts on this team and plays like Hugh Millen and he is wearing number #12 that is O.K. with you?

Yes, I would be fine with that. It's the name behind the number, not the number that's important.

I am VERY much against retiring numbers, unless the NFL wants to extend the range to triple-digits.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Yes, I would be fine with that. It's the name behind the number, not the number that's important.

I am VERY much against retiring numbers, unless the NFL wants to extend the range to triple-digits.

I respectfully understand the reason behind some of you not wanting retired jerseys and thats cool with me,but judging by this poll of yes and no which appears to be very close, it appears to be near 50/50 pro and con with this everlasting issue.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Yes !!!

What he said. New giants of the game are born by battling out of the shadow of the giants of old. I want to see 12 and 54 and 80 out there battling where those numbers signified greatness. Retired numbers are just an invitation to forgetting the past, look how many of us scrutinize(d) Alex Smith while he's wearing that #80? We remember what makes that number special.

 

[jmt57]

Unfortunately the concept of retiring numbers from an NFL team is not practical. Think about training camp and preseason, for example. With 80 players and just 99 numbers, you'll have to start doubling up pretty quickly. Add in the fact that the NFL assigns groups of numbers to specific positions, and it won't take long for many NFL teams to not be in compliance with that standardization. It's not like the NBA where you have 99 numbers to choose from for a roster that consists of only a dozen players.

My suggestion would be that all NFL teams still honor those special players by showing off their name and number in the team's Hall of Fame, Ring of Honor, or whatever each team has. Then with players like Bruschi, perhaps they can try to avoid giving it to another player for five or ten years. Even the idea of only retiring numbers of players that are elected to the NFL Hall of Fame is short sighted, because at some point the teams with the most HoF inductees are going to run out of numbers to assign to their players - especially non-single digit numbers.

So while it may seem sacreligious to see another player at some point wear 54 (or 80 or 55 - or even 12), it's just inevitable and is not disrespectful; it's simply something that can not be avoided.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

What he said. New giants of the game are born by battling out of the shadow of the giants of old. I want to see 12 and 54 and 80 out there battling where those numbers signified greatness. Retired numbers are just an invitation to forgetting the past, look how many of us scrutinize(d) Alex Smith while he's wearing that #80? We remember what makes that number special.

Don't worry about #80 seeing a regular season game in 2009 - Alex Smith ain't making this team so #80 stays off the field another regular season.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Don't worry about #80 seeing a regular season game in 2009 - Alex Smith ain't making this team so #80 stays off the field another regular season.

Thanks for missing the point.

 

[Snarf]

Agree with the "no"s.

It's just a number. There are far better tributes to players than forcing future generations to have to give number 24258 to a player because everything else is retired

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Thanks for missing the point.

No problem,I excell at that

 

[Pujo]

So if a rule came out and they never retired jerseys again and in 7 years from now if a QB starts on this team and plays like Hugh Millen and he is wearing number #12 that is O.K. with you?

Seeing someone with #80 was tough, but it's entirely a practical matter, you're going to run out of numbers.