Canadian Bills Fan Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 A Bills fan posted this on an article about how the Bills should retire Kemp's #15 "Personally I dislike retiring numbers, except in extremely rare examples. I applaud the Bills for keeping it to one number and just not issuing the other three. If Bruce's 78 were retired, would it hurt our chances in drafting or signing a stud pass rusher who grew up admiring Bruce and would love to play for the Bills? I think Syracuse hurt themselves by retiring #44. It was a cool recruitment tool and it was fun comparing the kids wearing it to some the legends who had it before. I'm not positive, but I believe SU honors great #44's and players in other ways just as the Bills honor their greats with the Wall of Fame. Mr. Kemp is honored on the Wall and rightfully so, I think he'd be honored more by some young athlete wearing his number and emulating his skills both on and off the field, then having it retired and never seeing action again." I would say I disagree, I dont think a player would base a decision about where to play if the number was availible. Especially if it's retired because there would be a darn good reason why it was retired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfreak Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 A Bills fan posted this on an article about how the Bills should retire Kemp's #15 "Personally I dislike retiring numbers, except in extremely rare examples. I applaud the Bills for keeping it to one number and just not issuing the other three. If Bruce's 78 were retired, would it hurt our chances in drafting or signing a stud pass rusher who grew up admiring Bruce and would love to play for the Bills? I think Syracuse hurt themselves by retiring #44. It was a cool recruitment tool and it was fun comparing the kids wearing it to some the legends who had it before. I'm not positive, but I believe SU honors great #44's and players in other ways just as the Bills honor their greats with the Wall of Fame. Mr. Kemp is honored on the Wall and rightfully so, I think he'd be honored more by some young athlete wearing his number and emulating his skills both on and off the field, then having it retired and never seeing action again." I would say I disagree, I dont think a player would base a decision about where to play if the number was availible. Especially if it's retired because there would be a darn good reason why it was retired. If a recruit bases his decision on where to go on what numbers are available, he probably won't amount to much anyway. If anything, it is a good recruitment tool, as long as it isn't overdone. Young guys today would most likely know who Jim Brown was and what he did as a pro, but probably wouldn't know that he went to Syracuse, but if they walk through the campus and see his jersey in a showcase, it might help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 A Bills fan posted this on an article about how the Bills should retire Kemp's #15 "Personally I dislike retiring numbers, except in extremely rare examples. I applaud the Bills for keeping it to one number and just not issuing the other three. If Bruce's 78 were retired, would it hurt our chances in drafting or signing a stud pass rusher who grew up admiring Bruce and would love to play for the Bills? I think Syracuse hurt themselves by retiring #44. It was a cool recruitment tool and it was fun comparing the kids wearing it to some the legends who had it before. I'm not positive, but I believe SU honors great #44's and players in other ways just as the Bills honor their greats with the Wall of Fame. Mr. Kemp is honored on the Wall and rightfully so, I think he'd be honored more by some young athlete wearing his number and emulating his skills both on and off the field, then having it retired and never seeing action again." I would say I disagree, I dont think a player would base a decision about where to play if the number was availible. Especially if it's retired because there would be a darn good reason why it was retired. I agree. I've never liked the idea of retiring numbers. The better way to honor the player is to leave it on the shelf until some furure player comes along and proves he's worthy of wearing it. The legacy is in the retired players' body of work, not the number he wore. And from what I've heard of Mr. Kemp, I think he would agree with you, also. A young QB who proves he's worthy of the number would indeed give him a thrill. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Band of Merriman Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 I have no problem retiring a players number. It should be kept to those truly transcendent players. I can't imagine any player basing their decision to play for an organization on the availability of a number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamRoller67 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Here's my problem with retiring numbers.... At some point, 20 or 30 years down the road are we going to have QB's wearing double digit numbers in the twenties? I hate retired numbers in any sport. You can reward the player by hanging his jersey name/number in the rafters or on a stadium wall, but the number itself should always be available to future players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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