Sherm and ET retiring as Seahawks (hopefully)

[olyfan63]

They seem a very American thing, these traditions like rings of honour / shirt retirements and the like.
Personally they strike me as twee and self congratulatory.

Yes, but what about that England '66 team? Shouldn't their numbers all be retired, Geoff Hurst, Nobby Stiles, and the rest?
Oh wait, Nobby Stiles, a national hero with the rest of that team, has struggled to get by after being diagnosed with Alzheimers 20ish years ago. Had to sell his world cup champion medals to get by and pay for treatment and support after his Alzheimer's diagnosis.

The Daily Mail thinks England should do better for their past athletic heroes. The Germans do, says the Mail.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... tiles.html

If the Brits did have traditions like jersey retirements, and Ring of Honor and such for their past athletic heroes, might it help with those pioneers being looked after better, later in life?

 

[olyfan63]

For those not from the UK and the Queen's English, a definition to share:

twee
/twē/
adjectiveBRITISH
excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental.
"although the film's a bit twee, it's watchable"
synonyms: quaint, sweet, bijou, dainty, pretty, pretty-pretty; More

One more tidbit from the Daily Express:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/75602 ... failed-him
"Last year the Daily Express campaigned for Stiles and his 1966 England team-mates to be knighted before it is too late.
The crusade was launched after revelations that he, along with teammates Ray Wilson and Martin Peters, had had dementia diagnosed. "

"One fan wrote: “State of football when an agent gets paid £20million for a deal and a footballing hero like Nobby Stiles has to sell medals and struggle alone.”
Another said: “Sad to see this, Man Utd should be doing more for Nobby Stiles. Like to think football look after their own.”

This is not in any way intended to be an attack on the UK or British culture. I love British people! Like the Brits on the SCUBA dive boat who asked me to repeat phrases from the Simpsons for them with my "American accent", and were endlessly amused!

Simply pointing out mutual struggles, for example, the NFL with repetitive brain trauma issues (e.g., Junior Seau)
https://www.brain-injury-law-center.com ... in-injury/

While things like the Ring of Honor could seem "twee" at first Brit glance, I submit that institutionally remembering athletic heroes of days past contributes to helping those *people* have better experiences and support when their playing days are long over.

 

[LudwigsDrummer]

I'm bummed the LOB has blown up.
I don't blame the team at all.
Ego's got in the way.