They will retire #28 on opening day for Curtis Martin :martin: and they will retire #90 on 10/28 for Dennis Byrd.
I was thinking "oh no" when I saw the thread title but I'm happy opening the thread. Curtis was a lock, all HOF players(that were primary Jets) have their #s retired but Byrd is a surprise. it has been unofficially retired since he got hurt and it will be a great day to officially retire it this year. Good job Jets.
Numbers shouldn't be retired. Great players are a significant part of a team's history. The numbers they wore are a link to that history. Players should be given those numbers with the expectation that they'll uphold the performances and values that the original player had. 28 shouldn't be given to just anybody. It should be given to that special guy that the Jets know has a chance to be great. That means a lot of years it is effectively retired because nobody on the roster fits the bill to wear it. But it shouldn't be permanently retired. Some day, hopefully soon, the Jets are going to have a runningback that not only deserves to wear 28 but wants to wear it as a link to the teams that Curtis played on. That doesn't mean every good back they get will want the number but the option should be there for the team and the player to decide to both honor Curtis and set the pace for his team the way #28 did.
Agree to disagree I suppose. For what he was on the field as well as off it, there might not be a single player that played for the Jets that doesn't deserve his number retired more than Martin. Byrd surprises me, but I was pretty young when he got hurt. I don't remember his career very well at all.
I don't think retiring a player's number is a good way to honor them. Ring of Honor is a great way. Inviting the player to address the team is a great way. Having the player represent the team at functions is great way. Retiring the number just means nobody ever sees it on the field for the Jets again and that in itself is a way of hiding the player from future generations. Nobody is ever going to make a great play as #28 again, occasionally leading the announcers to comment on how similar the play was to one that Curtis Martin made forty years ago, wasn't that a great play? It's sad that the Yankees have all those retired numbers. #3 and #4 and #7 and #9 should be on the field now and then as a link to the great players of the past. Not for just anybody. Pick the opportunities well and let the players of today represent the teams of today and link to the past and honor it.
The Yanks didn't make a mistake retiring 3,4,5 or 7 they made mistakes retiring 1, 9, 10, 23, 44, etc...
I agree with #23. What were his major achievements? 9 gold gloves? Yanks are about winning championships. Mattingly was never a champion. Bills are going to beat us on Curtis Martins number retirement day? You must be outside your mind, boy.
But it's also singling out a player and having their uniform visibly set aside. It's like a respect thing, which I think is what you're getting at by saying that the Ring of Honor is the right idea. But the Jets aren't the Yankees. They don't have a slew of numbers to retire. Since they're few and far between, don't you think it's appropriate that the franchise leaders in rushing, receiving, the rock star QB and only Super Bowl champ QB in team history's numbers are retired? Plus Klecko who was an All-Pro at several positions. The Ring of Honor will be good for the Winston Hills, the Wayne Chrebets, the Freeman McNeils - i.e. the guys that deserve recognition for their time as part of the team but not necessarily paramount players. Martin's number would be retired by any team in the league if he did there what he did as a Jet. Honestly, I think you're making too much of it. It's the highest honor a franchise can bestow on a player, and every number retired by the Jets certainly deserves to be retired.
