POLL: Jersey restrictions?

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In the same day, I have seen a stout white guy wearing a Donald Driver (who is skinny and black) jersey, and a skinny black kid wearing a Brett Favre (who is medium and white) jersey. Both strike me as rather strange. So I ask you, should there be restrictions on who can wear what sports jersey?

Poll Information
This poll contains 1 question(s). 23 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: Jersey restrictions? (23 votes.)

Jersey restrictions? (Choose 1)
* Yes, both by race and body type. - 4% (1)
* Yes, by body type but not race. - 9% (2)
* Yes, by race but not body type. - 0% (0)
* No, not by race or body type. - 87% (20)

 

before I reply,.... WTF is a jersey?

 

I'm talking about sports jerseys; it's a team uniform with indicating markers (name and number) for each player. Some people wear imitations of the jerseys that the pros wear (complete with name and number on the back). In my eample I've singled out football (specifically two Green Bay Packers jerseys), but it applies to almost any sport.

The main problem I've got with it is this:
There are TONS of good players that you can get a jersey for that match each race and body type. I myself, being a skinny white Packer fan with significant leg strength, would not dream of wearing any current jersey other than Longwell's. Nothing else fits; even Favre is a bit of a stretch.

Consider the examples above. Even if you were to limit your choices to a single team, the possibilities are quite numerous. The stout white guy, for example, was almost a dead ringer for Adam Timmerman (when he still played for the Pack) and could easily have pulled off a Tauscher, Clifton, Flanagan, of Kampman jersey. And the skinny black kid has practically half the team to choose from. There's Ahman Green, Driver, Ferguson, Walker, Harris, Roman, Carroll, Thomas, ... the list goes on and on. yet these people choose players who they could never ever be.

If you're stuck on a position, like quarterback, you've still got plenty to choose from when you consider the various teams' stars. You want skinny and white, there's Bledsoe, Palmer, Rothlisberger, etc. If you want skinny and black, you've got Vick, McNabb, etc. If you want stout and black, you've even got Culpepper.

[ September 23, 2005, 23:29: Message edited by: Felinoid ]

 

So now must we bring the race card into the fray of who someones hero is?

I say let a person admire anyone they want to. Except maybe Moss -- burn his jerseys in effigy. Especially the Minnesota ones.

 

Just like me, my answer's short, sweet and to the point: NO!

 

Sorry, I'm not finding any justification for this - I think Joe Greene was one of the best football players ever and, even though the lifeguards direct me to keep my shirt on at the beach so my lily-white skin doesn't blind people, I ain't giving up my #75 jersey.

People wear a numbered jersey because they like/admire/idolize the player. Period. Build, melanin content, etc. doesn't enter into it.

By your rationale, women would not be allowed to wear any 'fan jerseys' at all, being the wrong gender. And let's not even get into the criterion that the wearer should be even capable to play the sport in question.

Sorry, I vote no.


(Oh, and let's not beard the lion with pointless euphemisms; the first guy was FAT - plenty of actual pro football players could be defined as 'stout'. )

 

Why would race be a restriction for someone to wear a jersey? I have a black friend who is semi-ghetto that wears a Tom Brady( a white quarterback) jersey. If someone wants to show their support or admiration for a team or player, let them.

 

i really fail to see the point. we should only wear jereys of players that "resemble" us? sounds like a, albeit very, minor form of segregation imo. with respect, it sounds like a dumb idea to me, so no.

 

Well, the race thing certainly isn't a big deal (after all, it's simply a coincidence of birth, as is gender). But to see a big guy (and the guy wasn't fat; he looked like he could have made a very good offensive lineman) wearing the jersey of someone half his weight is simply ridiculous. Likewise with a little twig wearing a Gilbert Brown jersey (now Gilbert was fat ). I'm guessing that most of you didn't notice there were two things to say yes or no to, did you?

Mostly I just look at these people who are so poorly built (which is changeable for the most part) for their "chosen position", and think to myself, "Who are they kidding?" If you just want to show support for a player, there are plenty of other types of shirts for that which don't make it look like you're trying to impersonate them. I'm wearing my "Saint Brett: Patron Saint of Cheeseheads" shirt right now, in fact. It's got a beautiful depiction of a stained-glass window with Brett in full uniform surrounded by kids with cheeseheads on.

And while I may have a little left-over asthma from my childhood, I'm not about to wear an Ahman Green jersey just because he's got asthma too. I might have made a good running back in gym class, but that was only because we were playing touch (and nobody could touch me). If I had to play for real, I'd probably get creamed by those big guys.

As for women wearing jerseys: In male-dominated sports, it would be considerably less restricted for them, since it's assumed that she got the player's jersey through ... other means.

I'm actually a big proponent of womens' sports, and just got back from a UW Badger (womens') volleyball game. We kicked a$$!! (In keeping with my previous paragraph, I'd like to mention that there's one jersey of a currently graduated player that I wouldn't mind wearing. )

So, in conclusion: body type, but not race or gender.

 

... er, who's doing the restricting ...?

... and is this a serious thread?

 

Um, no. You seem to be missing the point, Fel. You're assigning a motive to people that - in my experience - they do not have.

These people do not wear these jerseys with any intent of being or emulating these players (or at least I and no one I know does, and I hope others do not - as you say, a humongous bulk of a man would probably not make a good QB, eg ). It's not their "chosen position" that's the factor here.

I have several jerseys - most hockey (c'mon, I'm CANADIAN ) but a one Calgary Stampeders' Flutie, and one Steelers' Greene. I could NEVER play football at all well (of either type) even in school; I'm 5'5", rather stocky build, but my legs are shorter than my arms - cannot get any turn of speed that's basically req'd for most positions, and I lack the height and bulk req'd for the rest. (I did make a decent goalie before my knees got the family arthritis, tho )

No, people wear a jersey of a given team, adorned with a player's name & number, because they are fans of that player - they wish to show their support of said player.

And further, if you disagree with this practice, you had best take your grievance to the source; compel Starter et al to stop selling jerseys to the general public.

Before you protest that the above recommended course of action is absurd, look at the underlying directive you're conveying to the wearers of fan jerseys when you say they shouldn't wear the jersey of someone they bear little resemblence in build to...

True, to see such a juxtaposition is amusing, but it is merely that - a humourous sight, nothing more.

In short; for BoM's sake, man - let it GO!

 

@Aik:
Well, it wasn't supposed to be. I'm not actually recommending that there be any restrictions like this; they would be next to impossible to carry out, and certainly not worth the trouble. With the loopholes being even bigger than the "rules" themselves, it's just a crazy idea.

@AE:
I would have thought a Carlin fan, of all people, would have understood this for the comedic commentary it's supposed to be. You have failed the test, young disciple; hang your head in shame.

 

My answer is still no, Fel. If you think it's giggling funny to see a fat, black guy wearing David Beckham's #6 or a short, skinny white man wearing Shaq's Laker jersery, then by all means, giggle away.

Carlin would see something very twisted - you know, take one thing and blow it *waaaay* out of proportion. Which, imo, would be:

Playing for Shaquille O'Neil, number 34, kuemper! (I trot out onto Laker center court, my 5'2", 180#, chunky, white self ready to act as center. I low-five the other guys.)

The game would proceed as normal from there and yes, I know Shaq's with Miami, but I prefer the Lakers so !

 

answer's still no though. i don't know, i'm no psych major,but maybe it has some pyschological aspect. maybe the fat guy reall admires the lean guy and so singles him out and maybe the thin guy really admires the built guy and singles him out or something like that. i wear the jerseys of a number of soccer players that i admire and the only on that i could possibly have a passing resemblance to is deco because we wear our hair the same way, are both short and have the same skin color. I'm really thin though

 

Everyone should wear Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys. That would solve all the problems--like mouthy Montreal Canadians fans and aggravating Detroit Red Wing fans...

 

NO! Just no!

 

You gotta be kidding; to consider someone ridiculous just for what he/she is wearing is... ridiculous...
So, with that criterion, Shaq's jersey will be used just by very few people?

I can imagine now: those hip hop singers, they all wear sport jerseys! Funny, most of them would end up in jail

 

Felinoid, this is a very odd poll. I still don't understand what your issue is. People don't wear sports uniforms because they think they could be in that position, they wear them because they think they look cool or because they are fans of that team / person.

 

Ofelix: Come to the Blue and White side! We never need to look at the paper to see the score of a game we miss. if we lose, we hear about it from everyone else...

 

im gonna answer no to both of those. I wear a Joey Porter jersey every sunday and im medium build white... sometimes i wear my hines ward jersey, and im white and bigger than him..hes hispanic btw.