Opinion Names on Back of Jumpers

[dylan93]

Unnecessary Americanisation that we don't need in footy.

 

[Leeda]

Nah - just buy a Footy Record, it's part of the game.

a cheap but effusive letters and numbers…

 

[Leeda]

I reckon each player should wear a giant carboard cutout of their own face as a mask.

View attachment 1255835

Groping not allowed…

 

[Liam Boy]

now that they've sold sponsor space up there it's going to be very hard to free up that space. can't see it happening

 

[LordLucifer]

NO !!!!

 

[Call Me Cake]

you couldnt read them on the TV

Not true. You could read defender names as they were taking a kick-out or taking possession of the ball during a spoiled goal - you could read the ruckman's name before the bounce - you could identify the names of midfielders as they swarmed the umpire during a stoppage, and you could clearly see the names of forwards as they took their 30 seconds for goal.

And the common TV was worse back then (including the screens of most phones). Visual technology, and size of the common screen, has progressed and gotten larger since then as well, which can only mean more legibility. It does nothing to hurt the game and everything to support it further for newcomers to get to know the players and for us to get to know the new players.

Players move in and out of the side a lot more now than years gone by - the turnover rate is so much higher. Rise and falls of talent is constantly changing and long gone are the days when the same best 22's were chosen every week.

 

[Leeda]

NO !!!!

How can we live like this?

 

[Leeda]

NO !!!!

I fell your pain..living is tough

 

[big_e]

Ironically the first sports league to have names on shirts/jerseys is believed to be the AFL.

 

[JackOutback]

Seems like a no-brainer. Has absolutely no negative consequences so not sure why some are so vehemently opposed. Even a fan who can recognise every player in their squad, including rookies, won’t know every player from an opposing club. Not everyone wants to watch a game with their nose buried in their phone to identify players. And even if it’s not legible 100 per cent of the time, there will be plenty of times it will be, such as during stoppages.

I mean, sure, it might not add a great deal either but I struggle to think of a rational reason to be opposed.

 

[Forward Press]

Seems like a no-brainer. Has absolutely no negative consequences so not sure why some are so vehemently opposed. Even a fan who can recognise every player in their squad, including rookies, won’t know every player from an opposing club. Not everyone wants to watch a game with their nose buried in their phone to identify players. And even if it’s not legible 100 per cent of the time, there will be plenty of times it will be, such as during stoppages.

I mean, sure, it might not add a great deal either but I struggle to think of a rational reason to be opposed.

The only rational reason is tradition.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Tiny club logo or initials or whatever clubs have

Sponsor

Name

Number

Sponsor

It just looks an absolute mess. 2-3 things need to go for it to work.

Even when they tried it before the top sponsor, it was too busy. Didn’t work.

 

[Osho]

As with all thorny issues, one does well to consult the classics for guidance.

"I'm not a number, I'm a free man
Live my life where I want to
You'd better scratch me from your black book
'Cause I'll run rings around you"
IRON MAIDEN, 1982.

 

[Donakebab]

Everyone has access to the internet , takes not long to search a club players number and get their name.

Ive never liked the angle of "catering to new fans". Loyal die hard fans are the ones keeping this game going , not blow ins for a game here and there of support.

Actually its the blow ins that are needed. Sure the loyal fans will stick around, but they won't grow the game. Blow ins increase attendance and viewer numbers, which in turn spins more advertising and sponsor revenue, which keeps the game afloat. A static audience will only net you so much before it can't keep up with ever rising costs.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Everyone has access to the internet , takes not long to search a club players number and get their name.

Ive never liked the angle of "catering to new fans". Loyal die hard fans are the ones keeping this game going , not blow ins for a game here and there of support.

Well I'm no blow-in, I've been following the game since the 70s, and here's the thing - life gets in the way of football sometimes.

 

[Kappa]

Nah - just buy a Footy Record, it's part of the game.

And what about casual fans watching from home trying to learn who the players are?

 

[RUNVS]

And what about casual fans watching from home trying to learn who the players are?

Yeah, people on this board don't care about those people.

 

[Jibroni]

No thanks

 

[ghostbat12]

It's been tried and it failed.
We play on the largest sporting field imaginable - no one at the stadium will see anything of the names. Plus on TV, the constant speed of ball movement and wide angles required to capture the play render reading the names an impossibility. Our sport is different and it is played differently - it is not soccer, rugby, NFL, basketball or baseball.
For marketing.... sure.
For any worthwhile identification of players while a game is being played either via TV or in the stadium....... no.

It failed because of size and type of font.

Given nearly all major sports use it, evidence is that it is not a fail but necessary.

As per normal, afl is backwards and no-namers think that numbers-only is somehow a unique afl invention when in reality, major sports abandoned it.

Newcomers love the names on backs. That’s reality. When I watch occasionally rugby, a sport I have no interest, I want to know immediately who that player was that scored.Not wait for commentator, or google it or look up some record magazine.

 

[netslave]

Nah, learn your teams players by number, wear glasses if you need to and get commentators who call properly.

 

[JackOutback]

The only rational reason is tradition.

That’s emotional, not rational.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Nah, learn your teams players by number, wear glasses if you need to and get commentators who call properly.

Um, most of us know our team’s 38 players. It’s the remaining 646 players in the league that this is about.

 

[RUNVS]

Um, most of us know our team’s 38 players. It’s the remaining 646 players in the league that this is about.

Yep. I know most of the major players on the other teams by their faces but not always. If Macrae or Parish for instance walked past me today I would keep walking and not even notice them. Also would not recognise guys like Gaff or Josh Bruce.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Yep. I know most of the major players on the other teams by their faces but not always. If Macrae or Parish for instance walked past me today I would keep walking and not even notice them. Also would not recognise guys like Gaff or Josh Bruce.

You’re clearly far more engaged me. I never miss a Swans game. I get a chance to see any other games maybe once every few weeks.

 

[GWT6]

And what about casual fans watching from home trying to learn who the players are?

Everyone has a smart phone - have the players and numbers up on the screen if it's needed.

The commentators already shout every player's name when they go near the ball. I don't think we need to print names just in case some person walking past a TV in Northern Queensland suddenly needs to know the name of a player.