#44

[RF2044]

If #44 is to remain meaningful to SU fans going forward, then it must live on. Take it out of the box in the basement and put it on Sean Tucker tonight.

Great post.

And no better time than when the school is honoring the legacy of another program great 44.

 

[690West]

Wildhack said this morning he will not be wearing 44 tonight

oops. just saw bees posted it

 

[RandomGuy]

Or they had the jersey ready to go but it said tuker on the back so they scraped it.

Nahh. They spelled it right. Unfortunately, they only ordered the BLUE jersey.

With the transfer portal, giving Tucker 44 IS recruiting. Lots of NIL implications.

 

[BVille44]

Axe was just on The ACC Network and stated that AD Wildhack announced on KRock this morning that Sean Tucker will NOT be wearing the #44 this season.

SU had a great opportunity on national television to make the #44 relevant again with a great RB in 2021 wearing the jersey instead of having fans watch black & white videos of great RB’s from the 1950’s and 1960’s. In my opinion this was yet another missed opportunity by SU Athletics.

It also would have been a great NIL opportunity for Sean Tucker to wear the #44.

 

[Nahson]

Smoke screen. Clear misdirection by the AD. Sneaky, sneaky, Wildhack...

 

[Alsacs]

Yeah our AD who is a rockstar doesn’t want to do this.

 

[BVille44]

Smoke screen. Clear misdirection by the AD. Sneaky, sneaky, Wildhack...

I hope you have some inside info. It would have been a great marketing opportunity to boost ticket sales for tonight’s game with the return of the #44.

 

[Orangello]

Fubar. Put that on the back of a #43 jersey and roll with it.

 

[javadoc]

They have time to change their minds and send him out with a #4 jersey, with another "4" written in sharpie. They could even get the guy who painted the endzone "MEN" green to do it.

 

[All4SU]

Really hoping that #44 rolls out tonight. I am on record as having wished they had done it last week as opposed to the night when they are honoring Floyd, but tonight is the last, best chance to do it this year.

In the links from yesterday, ottodaorange mentioned that Jim Brown had been against unretiring #44 in the past. I hope he has reconsidered. For far too many fans, #44 only applies to Jim, Ernie, and Floyd but Michael Owens, Terry Richardson, Rob Konrad, etc did pretty darn well repping the number.

Once Jim leaves us and once those of us who saw the great #44’s leave, then it will no longer mean as much. It will be like the heirloom that has been in a box in the basement for 30 years. You know it is meaningful, you have a vague recollection of the story behind it, but most of the time you forget that it is even there. Over time, future generations of fans won't even know that much.

If #44 is to remain meaningful to SU fans going forward, then it must live on. Take it out of the box in the basement and put it on Sean Tucker tonight.

I sincerely hope Bees is wrong and they break out 44 tonight. And my comment to Jim Brown would be that this is how you stay relevant forever. It started with him. If it ends, he eventually ends too.

Bring Back #44!

 

[NineOneSeven]

I'm sure there's a logical answer as to why, but let's go with some conspiracy theories because they're fun:

Either

1. Jim Brown said if you do it, you lose all my support.
2. Rob Konrad said he'd agree only if we hire Addazio.
3. Sean Tucker indicated that he'll be entering his name in the transfer portal after this season (we'll call this one the kcsu special).
4. It costs too much to get 3 new jerseys made.
5. Daryl Gross is the most powerful person in the history of SU athletics, and he does not give approval.

#6. They are nervous they’ll print the number 4s backwards on the jerseys

 

[BVille44]

Great post.

And no better time than when the school is honoring the legacy of another program great 44.

SU Athletics does not seem to understand the fact that the last time the #44 was relevant when it was worn by Floyd Little in 1966. All we see is grainy black & white videos of great RB’s wearing the #44.

Its time to make it relevant again for the younger fans and they m]are missing a great opportunity with a RB & person like Sean Tucker.

Missing a great marketing opportunity does not surprise me with SU Athletics. What they should have done all week is create a buzz about this game by announcing that the #44 was returning to the field tonight. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t have a marketing department.

 

[elimunelson]

If it's going to be a surprise I suspect JW was not going to say, "let's see what happens tonite". He's either all in on selling the surprise or it's not happening.

I still wouldn't be surprised if the school doesn't take advantage of a premier friday night time slot to unleash 44 on the country. It would be a leading story on college game day the next morning and Lee Corso would wax poetic about the great Syracuse traditions and how Beano Cook loved to talk about the 59 team having two squads that would be top 20 ranked if it was split up

 

[JKinPhilly]

Clearly Carrier sponsored the retirement of #44 and it was a lifetime deal

 

[Cuseregular]

No #44 tonight or this year according to John Wildhack on the radio this morning.

Stupidest university in the nation if true, they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, My God

 

[MikeSU02]

Stupidest university in the nation if true, they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, My God

It's amazing how bad we are at winning the things we can win. What a joke.

 

[dollarbill44]

If there is one tradition at SU that goes beyond the legend of 44, it is the awkwardness with which the Athletic Dept recognizes achievement. If they were actually to give Sean the number tonight, I could see them accidently giving him #43, misspelling his name on the back, driving him out in a golf cart that breaks down at the 30 yard line, and then after it gets restarted, it accidently plows into Floyd's family. All on prime time TV.

They probably would misspell his name with an instead of a T.

 

[BVille44]

With our luck the university will announce over the summer that Tucker is wearing the #44 in 2022 and have him debut the jersey at UConn.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Maybe Tucker doesn’t want it

 

[dollarbill44]

Possible misdirection? I'd assume probably not, but could it be a fake to get the crowd that much more hyped when Tucker runs out wearing 44.

Nothing would be gained by any such misdirection. All this shows is a lack of direction with the AD. It seems almost like they are afraid of giving out the jersey. There really is very little downside to putting it back into circulation. The worst that happens is that whoever gets it doesn't live up to the hype, which would only be noticed by a small universe of SU fans and alums. But, there is definite upside if they were to give it to Tucker and he keeps going the way he has to date and gets some serious national attention.

 

[Deleted member 8116]

Just give him 44. No big announcement. Just let him play.
People will notice. ESPN will notice. LGO!

I respectfully disagree. In the age of NIL, you have to make it big. That could be a decent sized recruiting tool. If anything it’s better than nothing. I think if this program is ever going to turn it around, then it needs to use any tool it can.

 

[dollarbill44]

Maybe Tucker doesn’t want it

He's already gone on record saying he does.

 

[BVille44]

Tucker deserves to wear the #44 this season.

 

[FrancoPizza]

I respectfully disagree. In the age of NIL, you have to make it big. That could be a decent sized recruiting tool. If anything it’s better than nothing. I think if this program is ever going to turn it around, then it needs to use any tool it can.

It could be a way to establish a pipeline to NFL running backs again.

 

[oldpinepoint]

He's already gone on record saying he does.

Oh missed that, thanks!