No more names on jumpers: AFL

[Iron]

Casual fans liked it. The core fans already know the players. I would have thought the names worked quite well; this seems like a bit of a cop out by the AFL, because the names took away prime advertising real estate.

 

[BIRDBRAIN]

Good decision, I don't think we need to go down the path of Bastardball style guernseys. You could hardly read the names anyway.

 

[Xtreme]

All those that bagged me for disliking the concept i can only say the AFL saw my posts and agreed with ME

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

I thought it was funny when people played the tradition card despite our current jumpers being plastered with sponsorships, chopped and changed and bastardised all the time for unnecessary clash/away variants, but I'm glad we're just sticking with numbers. It's a fantastic tradition, seeing them passed down through generations - our famous number 7 (Hawkins, West, Higgins) or 3 (Whitten, Grant, recently soiled by Everitt but back on track with Wallis).

They'll still run promotions, and I think you've been able to get names heat pressed onto jumpers for years now, so it's not as if the casual fan that wants the name jumper can't still get one.

 

[Byron_Clanger]

Was a waste of time, you'd have to have super sight so make out names during live play

 

[worthy]

When this trial first came out, a lot on BF said it was obviously to sell more merch. Looks like the AFL aren't as money hungry as some may think.

AFL were just pissed because people were just buying the letters and ironing them on, they had no control over the letters.

 

[jacross]

I would say I'm disappointed by this decision but it is a very very very muted disappointment that I have already gotten over.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

The NBA would cause a riot if it's introduced.

Haha ok...

Of course it's unpopular with people on internet forums. What are they going to do about it?

That's the point people are making, advertising among NBA fans is loathed for very good reasons and would not be the easy transition you think it will be.

I'm quite sure it will. Because nobody will be that fussed about a logo on a sleeve, just like no-one is fussed about the small logo on the front of an AFL guernsey.

Of course the powers that be in the NBA want it because they wanna fill their pockets with more lucre, that's no surprise.

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1197328

And that is the only reason it possibly wouldn't go through; that the money made through the advertising space on the jersey doesn't offset any anticipated drop in revenue through sales of these jerseys.

 

[Superstar swan]

We could use that space for more advertising

That's what they were trying to say

 

[Superstar swan]

say

Good Call.
No need for the names, at the ground you can't see them anyway, on TV the commentators tell you who the player is (unless they are too busy talking about themselves)

Bazil voted for names on backs, that way he could almost be competent calling non eagles and dockers games

 

[Leeda]

I didn't realize they made so much money from individual letters. !!

What a novel concept!. It is still a stupid idea and well can't people look at the footy record and match things together.

Do we have to make everything so easy for people... Can't they just work a bit harder for something?

 

[Clark G]

For once the AFL has made a good decision.

 

[Bollox]

Good decision
To prevent confusion amongst some fans we can always have match day balls stamped with " The Ball "

 

[estibador]

Do we have to make everything so easy for people... Can't they just work a bit harder for something?

Agreed. We should take numbers off the jumpers too, if people can't identify all 800 AFL players by sight they aren't real fans.

 

[FootyGeek]

vindicated

Said it was stupid.

AFL agrees.

It is stupid.

 

[FootyGeek]

Names on jumpers are great for crap sports where no-one moves much like soccer and netball but does not work for dynamic 360 degree games like AFL with 36 players on the field.

 

[estibador]

vindicated

Said it was stupid.

AFL agrees.

It is stupid.

The AFL aren't known for making great decisions.

If they agree with your stance on any topic it's usually a bad sign for you.

 

[FootyGeek]

The AFL aren't known for making great decisions.

If they agree with your stance on any topic it's usually a bad sign for you.

I agree.

But this time you are wrong.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Typically not thought through by the AFL.

At least this time they had the common sense to back away, than insist their view was right and continue the long list of bad decisions.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

It didn't make any difference having the names on their backs. Only Superman could've seen those names from 100 meters away.

Guess that's why we have TV cameras with zoom lenses.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Yes, heaven forbid that we should have a player's name on his back.

We all know that you're not a true AFL fan unless you can memorise 700+ players' names at the start of each season and match them instantly to their numbers.

Crass commercial logos are fine, of course.

 

[Crawb]

I liked it - so disappointing news.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Agreed. We should take numbers off the jumpers too, if people can't identify all 800 AFL players by sight they aren't real fans.

The difference is of course, that the numbers can be seen quite clearly when the player's back is showing, whether your on level 4 at the MCG, or it's a standard wide shot on TV during the game. Which then gives you a few more characteristics to associate with the player (hairstyle, body shape, position on the ground, skin complexion). The names couldn't be made out unless there was the odd close up of a player's back and often when that occurred, it was just some random who happened to wander across into shot while a free kick was being taken and had no involvement in the play at all.

Guess that's why we have TV cameras with zoom lenses.

Hard to believe that you are persisting with this argument, even after they've done the experiment. They tried it and, to the surprise of very few, it was ineffective as an identification tool. I'm surprised that they're not going ahead with it anyway, for revenue purposes, but there you go. Good for them.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

Guess that's why we have TV cameras with zoom lenses.

I found you couldn't really see them that well on TV either. Unless the name is big enough to see then it's not worth the trouble. They do have large numbers, and maybe that might give you a clue as to who the player is. Then again, maybe not.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Hard to believe that you are persisting with this argument, even after they've done the experiment. They tried it and, to the surprise of very few, it was ineffective as an identification tool. I'm surprised that they're not going ahead with it anyway, for revenue purposes, but there you go. Good for them.

I found you couldn't really see them that well on TV either. Unless the name is big enough to see then it's not worth the trouble. They do have large numbers, and maybe that might give you a clue as to who the player is. Then again, maybe not.

I disagree. I know my Swans players, but I don't have the time to learn the names, faces and numbers of some 600-odd others, and I found that with a decent-sized TV screen, it was the incidental player sightings at closeups of stoppages that were enormously useful in allowing me to put names to faces of fringe players from opposition teams. I'm in my mid 50s with reasonable eyesight for my age and really can't understand when people say they couldn't make out players' names, at stoppages at least.