How do you feel about #22 being retired at Penn State?

[BobPSU92]

Now that the names have come off the jerseys, I started thinking about Penn State having retired #22 in honor of John Cappelletti. It is the first number ever retired by the school. Akeel Lynch will be the last player to wear the number.

I really like John Cappelletti. I respect him. He is Penn State's lone Heisman Trophy winner. His story, meaning his bond with Joey, is special. However, I don't think #22 should be retired in honor of him. It's not the Penn State Way. Cappelletti is a Penn State legend, but there are other ways to honor him. Other players should have the opportunity to build a legacy at Penn State as #22.

The video released this week about Penn State taking the names off the jerseys talks about how "people remember the 22s". Cappelletti wasn't the only good 22. Others have shone wearing that number, but it bothers me to think that after Lynch graduates, there will not be another 22 at Penn State. I don't think Cappelletti should be singled out by having his number retired.

What do you think?

 

[mn78psu83]

Now that the names have come off the jerseys, I started thinking about Penn State having retired #22 in honor of John Cappelletti. It is the first number ever retired by the school. Akeel Lynch will be the last player to wear the number.

I really like John Cappelletti. I respect him. He is Penn State's lone Heisman Trophy winner. His story, meaning his bond with Joey, is special. However, I don't think #22 should be retired in honor of him. It's not the Penn State Way. Cappelletti is a Penn State legend, but there are other ways to honor him. Other players should have the opportunity to build a legacy at Penn State as #22.

The video released this week about Penn State taking the names off the jerseys talks about how "people remember the 22s". Cappelletti wasn't the only good 22. Others have shone wearing that number, but it bothers me to think that after Lynch graduates, there will not be another 22 at Penn State. I don't think Cappelletti should be singled out by having his number retired.

What do you think?

I agree. I do not think that they should retire #22.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

I came along after Cappy so when I think of #22, it's Shelley Hammonds. As a general rule, not in favor of retiring numbers, but I can't get worked up about it.

 

[mn78psu83]

I came along after Cappy so when I think of #22, it's Shelley Hammonds. As a general rule, not in favor of retiring numbers, but I can't get worked up about it.

Shelley Hammonds. Didn't he rush for 200 yards against BC?

 

[BobPSU92]

Shelley Hammonds. Didn't he rush for 200 yards against BC?

Yes, he did. I was there.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Shelley Hammonds. Didn't he rush for 200 yards against BC?

EXACTLY RIGHT! We had the injury bug and had to plug him in at tailback 'cause there was nobody left. Ran like hell against BC in his debut - but could not wait to get back to playing defense!

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

I came along after Cappy so when I think of #22, it's Shelley Hammonds. As a general rule, not in favor of retiring numbers, but I can't get worked up about it.

Um, Hammonds was #21, wasn't he? Also, just noticed this, but that's a freakin' Second Mile football card. Ugh.

When I think of #22 I think Kenny Watson, Brian Milne, and Evan Royster. I don't mind the number being retired; certainly in honor of a worthy player.

 

[MontereyLion]

Now that the names have come off the jerseys, I started thinking about Penn State having retired #22 in honor of John Cappelletti. It is the first number ever retired by the school. Akeel Lynch will be the last player to wear the number.

I really like John Cappelletti. I respect him. He is Penn State's lone Heisman Trophy winner. His story, meaning his bond with Joey, is special. However, I don't think #22 should be retired in honor of him. It's not the Penn State Way. Cappelletti is a Penn State legend, but there are other ways to honor him. Other players should have the opportunity to build a legacy at Penn State as #22.

The video released this week about Penn State taking the names off the jerseys talks about how "people remember the 22s". Cappelletti wasn't the only good 22. Others have shone wearing that number, but it bothers me to think that after Lynch graduates, there will not be another 22 at Penn State. I don't think Cappelletti should be singled out by having his number retired.

What do you think?

I agree with you. If we are taking the names off because it's all about TEAM, then numbers should not be retired. It took a TEAM to get Cappy his Heisman. Don't get me wrong, I love Cappy. I was there in 73 and watched him rush for all of those yards. Retiring numbers is not the Penn State way.

 

[NittPicker]

What better way to honor a number than to keep issuing it? Sometimes I catch myself seeing a particular number and trying to remember past players who may have worn it. Retiring #22 was Joyner's doing just like putting the names on the jerseys. The guy is a dumbass.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

What better way to honor a number than to keep issuing it? Sometimes I catch myself seeing a particular number and trying to remember past players who may have worn it. Retiring #22 was Joyner's doing just like putting the names on the jerseys. The guy is a dumbass.

Good point. You see players talking all the time about the #31, or #32, or #11 jersey at Penn State.

 

[NapaNit]

I love Cappy, all he did and all he stands for.....but I so wish he would ask PSU to unretire the number. It could cement so much.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Um, Hammonds was #21, wasn't he? Also, just noticed this, but that's a freakin' Second Mile football card. Ugh.

When I think of #22 I think Kenny Watson, Brian Milne, and Evan Royster. I don't mind the number being retired; certainly in honor of a worthy player.

Well that certainly harshed my mellow. You are 100% correct. He wore 49 as a redshirt, then 21 all four playing years. Per the greatest PSU reference ever - www.nittanyanthology.com.

Fox steps in it again.

Still not wild about retiring numbers however.

 

[Ranger Dan]

I don't believe in retiring any numbers, period. It's a matter of running out of numbers... There should only be ring of honor type treatment.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Like a lot of things over the past 4 years, the more the fans hate it, the more motivated Penn State will be to do it.

 

[fairgambit]

I strongly oppose the retiring of any number. Penn State has always been about the team over the individual. Retiring a number turns that belief on it's head. It puts the emphasis on the individual. Our cheer is collective....."WE ARE". Let's keep it that way.

 

[Fizz1]

Now that the names have come off the jerseys, I started thinking about Penn State having retired #22 in honor of John Cappelletti. It is the first number ever retired by the school. Akeel Lynch will be the last player to wear the number.

I really like John Cappelletti. I respect him. He is Penn State's lone Heisman Trophy winner. His story, meaning his bond with Joey, is special. However, I don't think #22 should be retired in honor of him. It's not the Penn State Way. Cappelletti is a Penn State legend, but there are other ways to honor him. Other players should have the opportunity to build a legacy at Penn State as #22.

The video released this week about Penn State taking the names off the jerseys talks about how "people remember the 22s". Cappelletti wasn't the only good 22. Others have shone wearing that number, but it bothers me to think that after Lynch graduates, there will not be another 22 at Penn State. I don't think Cappelletti should be singled out by having his number retired.

What do you think?

I don't agree with PSU retiring Cappy's number. 1) There were too many other great players. 2) This was a desperate and patronizing attempt to do something positive at the time when Joyner was flailing in the AD role to calm the masses.

 

[PSU-Knocker]

I don't think any numbers should be retired.

 

[Norm Petersin]

CappY was a great player and person. I played basketball against him. He could dunk from a standing position. No kidding

 

[fairfaxlion2]

Have to be honest -it's hard for me to understand how anybody cares one way or the other on this one.

 

[fairgambit]

Have to be honest -it's hard for me to understand how anybody cares one way or the other on this one.

To me this is an important issue. Lets keep our emphasis on the team and away from the individual. It helps set us apart. WE ARE!

 

[PSU-Knocker]

WE ARE!

Jersey nameless.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

To me this is an important issue. Lets keep our emphasis on the team and away from the individual. It helps set us apart. WE ARE!

Yeah, I get that - but seriously, we retired 22 and no other numbers. Most people do not even know we retired any numbers. I don't think it really takes anything away from the team emphasis.

 

[Option Bob]

The problem with a college team retiring numbers as opposed to a professional team is that no single player ever has a career longer than 4 years (redshirt year not included). Furthermore, what should the criteria be for retiring a number? Heisman winner? What about the Outland, Lombardi, Maxwell, Bednarik, etc?

Perhaps the criteria should be selection to the CFHOF? But no matter what the criteria are, the idea smacks of honoring individual performance over team performance ... Something Penn State has traditionally avoided.

I admire and revere Cappelletti as much as I do any other Nittany Lion over the years (ok, Mike Reid is still my favorite, but Cappy is right there with Onkotz, MRob, and Mauti); however, while his 2 years at TB are great, I think most PSU fans would take Warner, Carter, Mitchell (Lydell, not Cordell), or LJ over Cappy as our best TB ever. We all know the Hesiman is a media-driven, ESPN-influenced award. Everything about Cappy is admirable, but not any more so than Reid or Hali or countless other productive former players.

Think about other #'s that might deserve retirement: 12, 31, 32, 33, 24, 53, 42. Who gets the 31? Conlan or Poz? Does 12 go to Kerry or MRob? 32 to Mark Robinson or Thomas or Carter? 33 to Lucas or Ham? And so on.

Cappy is my paesano, but I think the whole retiring of numbers idea should be retired.

 

[fairgambit]

Yeah, I get that - but seriously, we retired 22 and no other numbers. Most people do not even know we retired any numbers. I don't think it really takes anything away from the team emphasis.

The precedent has been set. I'm a Cappy fan, but why not Mike Reid? Jack Ham? Curt Warner? What makes Cappy deserving of the honor and no others? To me it says he was the greatest player in Penn State history. He was not. I would not put him in the top 5. I actually feel that if this is not reversed, it should be extended to other players. Actually most Penn State fans I know do realize John's number was retired and I do not know a single person who favors it.

 

[Evan Ceg]

It's not an issue I'm going to lose sleep over, but I oppose retiring football jersey numbers.

A. Because a college football squad has more than 100 members, we already have too many kids wearing duplicate numbers. It makes player identification more difficult and substitutions more difficult since guys wearing the same number may not be on the field of play at the same time. Retiring jersey numbers only exacerbates the problem.

B. The honor of a retired number will always draw debate about who does and does not deserve the honor. That runs the risk of alienating a great alumnus who does not have his number retired. JoePa always talked about honoring players as the dilemma of "what you give to one, you take away from another." Cappy is our only Heisman Trophy winner, so you could say that the retired number honor will only be accorded to PSU's Heisman winners and eliminate the debate and minimize the problem with (A), but why risk the problem at all?

So far as I know, WBB is the only PSU varsity team that has retired numbers. Rene Portland, in her typical renegade fashion, started it.

 

[massimoManca II]

What better way to honor a number than to keep issuing it? Sometimes I catch myself seeing a particular number and trying to remember past players who may have worn it. Retiring #22 was Joyner's doing just like putting the names on the jerseys. The guy is a dumbass.

Yep yep yep yep yep ^^^^^^. Right there exactly dead-on correctomundo!

 

[anon_is9z1n0h3zblb]

I disagree with the statement that retiring the number was done to honor anything. It was done to try to placate an increasingly hostile fan base due to one colossal screw up after another by our administration.

That said, even if it had been done to honor Cappelletti I would have been against it.

 

[Connorpozlee]

It is a silly honor in general. You can have a day for the people you want to honor but "retiring" the number doesn't really mean anything.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

I disagree with the statement that retiring the number was done to honor anything. It was done to try to placate an increasingly hostile fan base due to one colossal screw up after another by our administration.

That said, even if it had been done to honor Cappelletti I would have been against it.

If this it true, the athletic department has no concept of what is important to the PSU fan. The move-ons are fond of saying how the kids in college now were in grade school and barely remember Paterno which gets truer by the year. They certainly have no idea who John Cappelletti was. The older fans have no desire to set a player apart from the litany of other greats because he won a particular award which many today recognize has become in many ways a marketing contest. Placating the fan base, I beg to differ, has never been a consideration from day one, on any topic. Antagonizing the fan base and mocking tradition is more in Penn State's wheelhouse, as I think this topic illustrates.

 

[BobPSU92]

When I started this thread, I wasn't sure how folks would respond. Cappelletti is a very popular Penn State player, and for good reason, so I thought it might be sacrilege to state that his number should not have been retired. However, the Penn State Way is prevailing here (team over individual), and we also should consider the notion that his number was retired for the same reason the names were put on the back (i.e., joyner and his ilk).

Since the names were removed, I would like to see #22 "unretired". Can Penn State do that without disrespecting Cappelletti, either in reality or by perception? How does Cappelletti feel about his number being retired? I mean, I'm sure he's flattered by it, but does not mean a lot to him? Does he feel it is appropriate? Ideally, Cappelletti would step forward on his own and request that the number be unretired, while issuing a statement to the media that it was his idea. I don't know if he would do that, but I would like him to. However, I would not want Penn State to force the issue if he were not receptive to it.

 

[BobPSU92]

If this it true, the athletic department has no concept of what is important to the PSU fan. The move-ons are fond of saying how the kids in college now were in grade school and barely remember Paterno which gets truer by the year. They certainly have no idea who John Cappelletti was. The older fans have no desire to set a player apart from the litany of other greats because he won a particular award which many today recognize has become in many ways a marketing contest. Placating the fan base, I beg to differ, has never been a consideration from day one, on any topic. Antagonizing the fan base and mocking tradition is more in Penn State's wheelhouse, as I think this topic illustrates.

Regarding your last sentence, I wonder how the old-guard trustees feel about the names being removed. Is Franklin on their shit list now?

 

[ralpieE]

Like a lot of things over the past 4 years, the more the fans hate it, the more motivated Penn State will be to do it.

Everything the OG BoT, Exec. Com. and the sheep Barron have done has been calculated to piss off the greatest number of fans, alumni and staff.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Regarding your last sentence, I wonder how the old-guard trustees feel about the names being removed. Is Franklin on their shit list now?

I certainly hope so. There is no greater honor than being on the OGBOT shit list. That is incontrovertible evidence that you are a man of principle and integrity.

On the contrary, if Masser and Dunham and their ilk say you're one of us, then what does that say about YOU?

 

[BobPSU92]

I certainly hope so. There is no greater honor than being on the OGBOT shit list. That is incontrovertible evidence that you are a man of principle and integrity.

On the contrary, if Masser and Dunham and their ilk say you're one of us, then what does that say about YOU?

So true.

 

[colt21]

Retiring the number was just another perceived slap in the face to all things Joe. It should have never happened. However it would be. Dry difficult to undo it.


The only thing that would work would be if JC himself decided to un- retire it.

 

[1978lions]

"The only thing that would work would be if JC himself decided to un- retire it."

I think something a little less than divine intervention from the son of God might do.

I'm against the retirement also, never made sense.

And my favorite non-Cap #22 was Ray Isom

 

[THEEHMANN]

I agree. I do not think that they should retire #22.

Mt thoughts exactly. Well said!

 

[PSU-Knocker]

The only thing that would work would be if JC himself decided to un- retire it.

Do you mean Jesus Christ?

 

[mhentz]

I feel the exact same way about retiring #22 as I felt about the names on the jerseys. This is not something we do at Penn State. As much as Cappy meant, and still means, to the program I do not believe he or anyone else should have their jersey number retired. Retiring jerseys is not part of "no name, all game" and is a leftover from OCD Joyner trying to erase Joe's legacy and replace it with his own. It has no place at Penn St. and when Akeel Lynch moves on I hope the program conveniently "forgets" about Joyner's bullshit move and awards the #22 jersey number to an incoming deserving freshman.

Now, on the other hand, some programs have a number or numbers that are highly coveted by the team and must be earned. If the #22 were to become the programs' most coveted jersey number and was only awarded to the single player with the greatest total commitment to the program and it's ideals both on and off the field, that is not something I would no problem with.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Now, on the other hand, some programs have a number or numbers that are highly coveted by the team and must be earned. If the #22 were to become the programs' most coveted jersey number and was only awarded to the single player with the greatest total commitment to the program and it's ideals both on and off the field, that is not something I would no problem with.

A la #44 at Sorryexcuse.