RICHMOND, Va. -- The Detroit Lions are retiring the number 93 jersey for the upcoming season in memory of defensive lineman Corey Smith, who disappeared when a boat capsized off the Florida coast. Smith, a free agent who played the past three seasons with Detroit, is one of three men who went missing off the Gulf Coast after their 21-foot fishing boat capsized in rough seas three weeks ago. Galen Duncan of the Lions' front office announced the one-year retirement of Smith's jersey number at a memorial service Saturday in Smith's hometown of Richmond, Va. Several hundred mourners, including Smith's former teammates from the NFL, North Carolina State and high school attended the service. Smith's high school coach, Kevin Burden, says he prays for a guardian angel who wears the number 93. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4003668
Am I the only one who sees problem with this? I know we are talking about the Lions but hey, let's commemorate our historic 0-16 season by retiring the number of a player that only played three seasons including this one. I understand that it is tragic that the player lost his life but only the best players in the history of the game should be in the hall of fame or have their numbers retired. The Lions other retired numbers are listed below (please note the absence of Barry Sanders): Num Player 7 Dutch Clark 22 Bobby Layne 37 Doak Walker 56 Joe Schmidt 85 Chuck Hughes 88 Charlie Sanders
buddy its for one year....i think the loss of a life outweighs an 0 - 16 season.... they are retiring the guys number for one year....do you have a heart?!?
I misunderstood and thought that they were permanently retiring his number. It is not outrageous to hold his number for one season but I still think it sets a bad precedent.
Well I think that it may be a while before a few players innocently hop on a boat to do some fishing, only to die in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico- not much precedent being set.
And just how do you know they were innocent anyway? Next you are going to say that Stallworth was innocent.
As TurkJetFan pointed out, it is only for one year. You wrote, "only the best players in the history of the game should be in the hall of fame or have their numbers retired." Do you know what happened to Chuck Hughes? During the waning moments of a Bears-Lions game in 1971, he suffered a heart attack and died. Should 85 be unretired because Hughes is not a Hall of Famer?
I have to admit that I was not familiar with the history involving Chuck Hughes. I am not sure that Hughes number should have been retired in the first place but the idea of unretiring numbers doesn't make much sense. There are many ways to honor the death of a player. As retiring a player's number is an honor rarely bestowed it doesn't seem to be the best way to do it.
I know I live sort of in the south, and I might be slow, but I fail to see any connection at all between a tragic boating accident in rough seas and an idiotic decision to drive drunk.
I don't much care for the practice in general. I most like what the Raiders do. They don't retire numbers. Alas, I don't think it's a big deal. Whatever criteria a particular team uses is fine with me. There are several teams which retired numbers for players who died young. A couple never played in an NFL game. The one thing that did annoy me when was the Seahawks unretired 80 for Jerry Rice. Steve Largent was okay with it, but that was understandable. Largent is a classy guy. But what the fuck was Rice's problem? You went there for a cup of coffee at the end of your career and insisted on wearing the number 80 although it was already retired?!!!? I didn't get that at all.
Good move by the Lions for Corey Smith, but good move for the guy in training camp who would have to wear #93. I think it just makes sense to retire it for a year. No one would want to wear that number this year. Too soon.
I doubt anybody would give a god damn who wore the number before them. They probably wouldn't have even ever know the dude. God, I hate this "too soon" bullshit. People die.
If I didn't have a heart, I wouldn't be able to get oxygen to different parts of my body. Some people like to diddle their own shit from their make-believe moral high ground, some people aren't chumps.
By the way, I'm totally in favor of retiring his number for the year. It's a nice gesture toward his family and friends.
That is pretty classless on Rice's part. What a total dick. He already has his mark on the football world, and he feels like he needs someone elses inch. Whatever. :drunk: I don't see any problem at all with what the Lions are doing. It's a temporary, honorary thing to do. Apparently, they felt the guy was deserving of the honor, and in the end that is all that counts. I didn't know the guy, but if they think it is a good thing to do, hats off to them.
I never claimed to have a problem with them holding the number. It was just your ridiculous logic that I took issue with.
