NCAAbbs

What's with this no names on the jerseys? Is this another thing Calaway learned from the Bear while at Bama?

I can't stand this no name junk. My daddy told me that if you are not proud enough of your work to put your name on it then find something else to do. What Callaway and Davis don't realize is that personalities sell tickets something that UAB needs to do more of.

Come on coaches welcome to the 21st century put the names on the back so that the fans don't look at the players as a bunch of generic no-names.

CNC took the names off to stress TEAM and not ME

At least it appears that the BB team keeps that thought since they even get arrested as a team.

I hate that the names are not on the back of the jerseys. I don't keep up with the number of a player. Makes us look like a Div III program.

I think the names will return next season to the jerseys. CNC just wanted to break down everything Zero did and help change the attitude of the team. i think it's a one year thing

Yeah and it really seems to be working.
I hate these dumba$$ mind games coaches play.
They usually make no difference.

Today's game isnt a reflection of attitude, it's a reflection of returning 8 starters, only having 67 scholarship players and having the OL outweigh our DL by average of 60 LBS.

Is names on jerseys really THAT big of a deal? Come on now. Stop nitpicking at meaningless stuff.

It's a big deal for me. I'm getting too old to memorize rosters! I mean I have a hard time remembering my wife's cell phone #!

Temporary tattoo the roster onto your forearm.

It's not meaningless and it's not nitpicking TM. And it's not necessarily that big of deal. Some people just like the names on the back of the jerseys because remembering numbers isn't that easy for some of us.

That said I think Hackney looks good on Defense!

Put the names back! We are UAB not UAT. We dont give a flying f&*%k about the bear and his traditions. One of UAB's traditions is having the names on the jerseys so keep it.

What the hell? Is that in the media guide or something? "UAB -- Proudly displaying the names of our players on the backs of their jerseys for 12 years."

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with your definition of UAB's traditions. Names on the backs of jerseys weren't one of our traditions because we have only ONE tradition; throwing away every important game where we had a lead with monumental late-game collapses.

Even though the lack of jersey names is very Bama-esque, Coach Callaway needs to do ALL that he can to sever every single remnant of Coach Zero's tenure at UAB. If adopting a concept of team unity by eliminating individualism on an under-disciplined team is one way he wants to do it, then I'll afford him every opportunity to do it.

And as much as I despise everything about that crimson hell-hole down I-59/20 from Birmingham and all that it stands for, I cannot deny their history of success in football whether achieve honestly or dishonestly. If we end up using a few of their HONEST tactics to become a better football program, then I say let's do it. I'm sorry, but that's just the way I feel.

If they make plays, you will know who they are.

So, because UAT has ever done something, that means UAB can NEVER do that same something under any circumstances PERIOD! Well, with them having over 100 years of football, that doesn't leave us with a lot of options. Isn't wearing helmets a UAT tradition? This is ridiculous...

It has nothing to do with Tuscaloosa. It has everything to do with UAB needing to do everything it can to be more fan-friendly, from improving concessions to putting names on the back of the jerseys. I seriously doubt that removing someones name from their jersey changes anybody's attitude, if it is bad.

nit, meet pick.

Board, meet Mrs. Calloway.

I mean, really, how much are you getting paid, FM?

Yeah, after watching the game today, I definitely feel that the first thing that needs to be addressed by the coaching staff is the lack of names on the jerseys. It seemed to be a huge issue today.

Oh yeah, and I heard that at Alabama the players used to drink water after practice, we should definitely stop that as well.

And we should stop using a playbook because I think Alabama has one.

Nitpicking is fun and helpful.

Lets do more of it.

I also heard that our guys wore cleats today! What were they thinking?

I have to run up the on this one.


Since UAT wears helmets do we ned to play without them? UAT fans cheer so does that mean we can't cheer? Come on people get a grip. In four years when these guys are Seniors you will know who they are. There are a bunch of football teams that do not have their names on jerseys.

I am confused. UAT actually does have names on their jerseys. Does this mean that we can no longer put names on the jerseys because UAT does?

I was watching Sportscenter this morning. I saw names on the backs of the UAT jerseys. See! We're NOT copying them! You can be happy about it now!

You guys are the ones who are nit picking. One person mentions Tuscaloosa in this thread and you guys are nitpicking all over that excuse. Several others says putting names on the jerseys makes it easier to follow the team. But you apologists are ignoring that legitimate reason.

You are only focusing on what one person said.
Lord, we wouldn't want to do anything that would actually be fan friendly.

I told BlazerRob he could temporary tattoo the roster to his forearm to make it easier.

fan friendly, how about convenient for someone too damn lazy to remember the name of a player. Really if you are watching from 40 rows up can you really read the name or can you see the number?
I think people are looking for excuses to jump on Callaway.

Well, no Blazer talkers made it clear to Callaway that the names MUST remain on the jerseys before the season started.

All the talk was about the helmets not being changed (they weren't) and not dressing the team in black (they didn't). See? Your fashion sense has an impact when you speak up in time!

Therefore the uniform bitchers apparently hold sway with our attire and the complainers :muttering: have no one to blame but themselves for the names not being on the jerseys. You failed in your responsibility to get the kids properly dressed for school this morning.

This is absolutely amazing. Fans can't be upset with the names not being on the back of the jerseys? This complaint is considered to be looking for reasons to complain against CNC?

Some of you need to take a relax pill. Not everyone is watching the game from the nose bleed section. This game was on TV if memory serves me correctly. There will be several more games on TV this year as well. Again if memory serves me correctly, you can see the names of the players if you're watching on TV. This has nothing to do with CNC. This is all about a preference of fans watching their favorite football team and their opinions.

Some prefer names and some don't give a ratz arse about it. It doesn't make either side a bad fan so the "fans are taking freaking lazy to remember the number" and we're not trying to be like Bammer" crap needs to be flush down the damn toilet.

People have an opinion folks. Can they voice them on this board without being ridiculed in the process?

Personally, I think the elimination of names on jerseys is more of a fashion thing amongst than a 'team unity' thing. How many times have we seen a new coaching hire make that the first (if any) change to the uniform?
It was notable when a few teams did it. Now darn near every other school does.

You want team unity? Team trips to the tattoo parlor. A movie. The barber. McDonald's. Burning Man '07. I think my point is that there are more notable things you can do to get your teammates to lean on each other. Names off the jerseys is a pretty superficial one, at best.

But as noted, it really doesn't matter. I'd say we were pretty unified in getting manhandled yesterday. I plan on seeing the same unity in winning games and representing our school to the fullest.

Maybe it's an overreaction on my part to several fans nit picking the hell out of Callaway after and before he coached his first game. Point well taken my friend. You have to understand there has been allot of crap floating around I guess this topic is caught in the crossfire. I personally like the names on the back but don't have a problem with it and usually have most of the names with numbers in my head after a couple of games. Coaches do this sometimes to build team unity as stated above and if Callaway thinks it will help more power to him.

You're still right: It's still one hell of a nit to pick.

More important things to worry about. Are we beat up physically? Are there further adjustments to be made to the defense? Did our offense execute as expected? Despite this landslide loss, what can we look foward to in future games?

I think a message probably got through to the players during that game. I don't think we'll see any more quotes from Callaway bemoaning the players' effort and intensity in practice.

We have all week to worry about important things.

But whatever, I can show you one hell of nit-pick and it is definitely not fans wanting names on the back of jerseys.

I can show you better than I can tell you................on this board.

You play for the name on the front, not the one on the back. Seems anyone who remember's one of Larry McSwain's "I love me" dances after a sack would appreciate that.

Just sayin'.

Has nothing to do with some fans prefering the name be on the back of the jersey. It's just a preference.

Just sayin'.

Fair enough.

BTW, 'grats on snaggin' a teacher. You know what they say, "Teachers make you do it til you get it right.";)

You're exactly right Smaug. And I've been wrong on purpose a many of times.

I LIKE IT!!!!!
Lets home the names stay off the jerseys. Particularly the ROAD jerseys.

RE: Names on jerseys- When the AFL was absorbed by the NFL, the older league "gave in" on a couple of points to make it look like a merger rather than the "take over" it actually was. The most visible AFL innovation the NFL accepted was to put the names on the jerseys. Only years later did they adopt the 2 pt conversion option originated by the AFL. I like the names on the jerseys and always have. It is for the TV watching fans like me who don't get to see many pro or college games in person.(I didn't like the XFL innovation of made up names like "HE HATE ME") I would prefer the names be on the uniform for TV audiences who usually don't know the players on the teams they happen to be watching rather than the teams own avid fans who have memorized the names and numbers.

Per todays Birmingham News: (see bottom of page)

Sound Off

I realize that it's all a matter of opinion, but I liked it. It really didn't bother me that there weren't names on the back of the jerseys. Last year was the first year that I didn't attend every home game, in fact, I didn't attend any last year, yet by the time I finished watching the game I knew who some of the guys were. Mainly the guys making plays, but still, even if their names were on the back, I probably wouldn't have remembered.

As someone who played sports, I always thought the number was more important anyway. I mean, if I say #23 for the Bulls, driver of the #3 car, #2 for the Yankees, #14 for UAT, etc. we pretty much can all come up with the names to match those numbers. The name doesn't get retired when a player achieves greatness, the number does!

Anyway, just my $.02

No names = TEAM

As a long time alumni and financial contributor I feel real comfortable in saying: SHUT THE CRYING AND LEARN THE NUMBERS!

If you claim to be a fan, then back it up: SHUT THE CRYING AND LEARN THE NUMBERS!

Haven't we all ready been through this with the basketball team?
SHUT THE CRYING AND LEARN THE NUMBERS!

Sounds like too many of you are related to a certain sax player.
SHUT THE CRYING AND LEARN THE NUMBERS!

And just for emphasis:SHUT THE CRYING AND LEARN THE NUMBERS!

I too as a very long time alumni and financial contributor believe that it is important to get the names back on the shirts.

I did not like it when Coach Davis took the names off in Basketball but at least there were only 10 numbers to learn and because basketball is watched in a much smaller venue, I can just look at the players faces and see who's who. Football is much worse as you have to look close to see the names (when present) and it is impossible to see the players faces from the stands.

I have sat back and read the comments posted on this board with regard to "namesgate" and it seems that the arguments can be summed up by the two sides as follows:

The bring back the names folks just want to leave well enough alone and spend more time enjoying the sport rather that learning rosters that will be out of date in a few short seasons. We see the no names=team approach as a juvenile exercise that is best used in pee wee and high school sports. If an 18 to 24 year old man (same age as those serving in Iraq) does not understand that football (and basketball) is a team sport then is he really the type of athlete that we want representing the University of Alabama at Birmingham?

While some well known schools like Penn State in football and Indiana in Basketball do not have names on their jerseys this is because they have a long history that predates the placing of names on shirts. UAB is not Penn State nor IU and even if we win a championship or two over the next 10 years it will be at least 75 to 100 years before we have the tradition of programs like those.

UAB needs to be fan friendly. While many posters on this board choose to live in a world where all things are green and gold this is not the real world. We have a small program that competes for attention with two of the largest "sports" colleges in the nation. In today's Birmingham News there are two articles that identify some of the problems UAB faces in getting fans out to Legion Field. One is the the senseless shootings of the high school kids out at the stadium last night and the other is the fact that many UAB fans will probably sit this season out because of the Pat Sullivan/Jimbo Fisher affair (see Ray Melick's column). When facing such large problems as these some of us see the removal of names as a step in the wrong direction.

I have carefully listened to each of you who have no problem with the names removal and the argument seems to be this:

It really does not matter to them and because they don't think it is a big deal then those who think it is are just being petty. They see any criticism of anything UAB as counterproductive and look at those who point out problems as whiners and malcontents who just look for things to nit pick about. I have not read one valid argument as to why removing the names is a positive that will help UAB.

What I have read is what seems to be some people defending this action in the name of "Support the Coach" no matter what. They see any negative comments about the team and its uniforms as nothing more than than just another opportunity to bemoan the fact that Coach Callway was not the fans choice and that they wish him no success. While I make no bones about the fact that I thought Jimbo Fisher and not Neil Callaway was the right man for UAB that has nothing to do with the uniforms being changed. The fact is that Neil Callaway is the Head Football coach at UAB and while I told him to his face that I thought he was not the right man for the job; I also told him that I would support him and that I hoped that he proved me wrong. So while I support Coach Callaway, I will not blindly go along with every decision that he makes.

If this board hopes to have any meaningful discussion then it is going to have to understand that not everyone thinks that there is no room for improvement at UAB. Last year Coach Davis made a few mistakes by allowing Oliver Robinson's number to be worn (only in practice) and having the uniform color problem (not his fault directly but it did happen on his watch). Coach Davis listened to the fans and made changes; let's see how well Coach Callaway listens.

You're either, a non-fan (fanatic), or a lazy moron.

STOP CRYING AND LEARN THE PLAYERS NUMBERS!

In the time that you have spent crying on this message board, you could have memorized the players numbers for the last decade.

What about all of the casual fans that we are trying to attract to the games? You guys don't seem to care to increase attendance. Those guys are not fanatics or maybe even fans. But if some player makes a fantastic play, someone who is watching UAB for the first time might want to know who that player, without having to dig through all the ads in the program to find out.

When we are talking about fan-friendly, it is those people I am talking about.

Simple. No wins = no fans.

Team unity = Working together to make the program better and WINS!

Seriously, pick up a dam* program, learn and grow wise.

So what are you trying to say, MC Blazer?

Personally, I don't see where this is that big of a deal. As a fan, I try to memorize the names with the numbers, regardless of whether the names are on the back or not. I will admit I haven't learned all of them yet, but I do plan to by the first home game.

I seriously doubt a casual fan is going to walk in, see they have no names on the jerseys, and walk right back out. Most casual fans don't even care about the names especially since they can't read them unless it's on tv. They just want to see football.

I am a casual fan of the barons. I don't know anyone on the teams name. That doesn't stop me from going on thirsty thursday.