Rowdies Retiring #6

http://www.rowdiessoccer.com/index.php?id=52&newsid=5003

So #6 will be retired, and, fine, that's a deserved honor, Iron Mike is one of the Holy Trinity for us old folks.

The funny thing is that "Currently Rowdies rookie defender Jordan Gafa has been wearing the #6 jersey that is being retired on August 10th. In honor of the former Rowdies defender, Gafa will be switching from #6 to #17 at the start of the 2013 NASL Fall Season."

So, wait...you're going to retire a number for someone who didn't play for you (wouldn't be the first time, but bear with me, here), to go along with the other retired number for someone who didn't play for you (Perry, fine, great guy, love Perry), but you didn't - despite being told - keep a number that had actually been retired before any of those guys' numbers (and another 1/3 of the Trinity) actually retired.

 

That's true. It's not unprecedented at all - even worldwide - but it's still not something I particularly think we need to be doing in this sport.

I mean, seriously....almost anybody famous who has worn the #10 for a soccer team could be a candidate for number retirement. That's why you give them #10 in the first place, much of the time. And Marsh - for all of his faults and the things that made him Rodney - would be the guy to honor, but you're not going to take #10 out of circulation.

I would imagine someone will be wearing #10 for the Cosmos in a month, wouldn't you? Or are they going to hold to that?

 

It is part of the ethos of other sports. I am not sure it needs to be part of ours. Numbers mean a bit more in our sport, maybe that is it.

I would rather see a statue or a fresco or plaques or something.

Maybe in the new stadium in Tampa.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

 

To me, number retirement is the ultimate honor (short of a hall of fame, which isn't a team-sponsored thing, usually, even though teams may have their own halls of fame) and should be reserved for those who were truly transcendent. Not just great, but impactful in ways that perhaps went past their actual accomplishments on the field or court or rink (though those should obviously be impressive most of the time, unless you die young or something).

Marsh-Connell-Wegerle were the triumvirate that meant the most to the late 1970s Rowdies (the only Rowdies that have, really, resonated, sorry, new kids). Connell was the Iron Man, always there, team leader, never backed down, played such an important role in addition to critical position, and played it well. Cowboy was such a great player and was involved in so much of the greatness that he has to be in there (and the nastiness in the middle was repaired later). Marsh was the face of the club for that brief time, and though many of his teammates (and his coach, obviously) hated his guts, there's fame and then there's what Rodney had. Fame, charisma, style, panache, ability, showmanship, flair for the dramatic, controversy, pluck, all of it. But you can't really take #10 out of circulation for a soccer team, given that number's importance to the sport (which trumps any individual player). And for his contributions to the Tampa Bay soccer community over a long period of time (since he was 18, basically), I have no problem with honoring Perry (just wouldn't necessarily have done it first, but he was still there and the others weren't, so there you are).

Smethurst was a great goal-scorer, but that didn't end well at all. Dutchie was a terrific player, but you don't retire the numbers of terrific players unless they're terrific for 20 years or, again, they die young. Kozic was a solid player I'd love to have on my back line in any era. Loved Wes McLeod's energy and enthusiasm and team-first attitude (the Sidekicks retired his number indoors, BTW). Gorman, Boyle, DuBose, you can name a lot of those guys and go to Trittschuh or Harbor or Terry Rowe or the other guys who were keys to the short period in which the team was an APSL contender.

But if you're going to consider number retirement as the ultimate honor (as I do), you have to be in some pretty rarified air to get that. To me, for what they did during the 1975-84 era, there's Connell, Wegerle and Marsh. For the long-term contribution as well as solid play, there's Perry.

I'm not seeing anybody else in the history of the clubs who I would honor in that way.

Now a Ring of Honor? Names on a facade or plaques on a stadium concourse wall somewhere? That's a different story. You can find one person a year who deserves that. I might have done that before I went to what is basically the nuclear option and retired a number.