NFR-ish: # 88

[sipwell]

Would you allow a player to have the # 88 on the back of his shirt, regardless of the motivation?
Would you agree if the club allows a player to have the # 88 on the back of shirt or would you complain?


For those who don't know: 88 = twice the eight letter of the alphabet  = H H = Heil Hitler

Just saw this:
Presentazione Gokhan Inler - Nave Crociera MSC - DE LAURENTIIS SHOW

I wouldn't be very pleased to be honest. Regardless of whether he is born in 1988 or some other reason. 88 is an absolute no no for me.

[Mr Fulham]

Gigi Buffon had the same number when he was at Parma. Big controversy back then.

Seems to be normal in Italy though. Remember Di Canio?




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[finnster01]

Gigi Buffon had the same number when he was at Parma. Big controversy back then.

Seems to be normal in Italy though. Remember Di Canio?




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Totti was at it too. Some very dodgy Italians

[LordNelson]

Make anyone who requests that number wear double zero (00).

[The Bronsons]

Is that 88 = Heil Hitler thing well known, then? I feel very naive because I wouldn't have made that association. I'd just think it was a bloody silly number to put on a player's back - unless you've got 88 players in the squad, of course.

[Mr Fulham]

Is that 88 = Heil Hitler thing well known, then?

Especially in Italy, yes.

[sipwell]

Is that 88 = Heil Hitler thing well known, then? I feel very naive because I wouldn't have made that association. I'd just think it was a bloody silly number to put on a player's back - unless you've got 88 players in the squad, of course.

I think in most countries it is. You will have a large number of Nazi bands having 88 in their band name or in their songs. Wikipedia also acknowledges it :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/88_%28number%29#As_a_Neo-Nazi_symbol

[The Bronsons]

It's an education, this board. Thanks - am reading the Wiki page now.   :54:

[Logicalman]

Personally I really don't care either way.

I would say though that the more we take action to 'avoid' such things, the more credence we give to their validity. I do appreciate, however, that others have much stronger views on this than I do, especially those that were more severely affected by what happened 70 years back, and in no way should that be diminished.

[dishEJtheRock!]

Let them wear 88 all they want. They wont thinks its so clever when brad pitt and the bastards scalp them.

On a related note, i watched a documentary about neo nazi skinheads in the south and all i kept thinking was half of liverpools team could blend right in with those nut jobs (i mean based on looks, not ideals). Especially that Skrtel guy, shaved head and what i can only describe as an evil looking face

[HatterDon]

There's an 88 on every collegiate and professional American football team. I'm betting that NOBODY requested the number for that reason.

How about 13? Hells Angels wear 13 on their colors because the 13th letter of the alphabet is M which stands for marijuana. Should players be banned from wearing 13 because it promotes drug abuse? Should EVERY player in The Netherlands be forced to wear 13 for the same reason?

[Ron Sheepskin]

There's an 88 on every collegiate and professional American football team. I'm betting that NOBODY requested the number for that reason.

How about 13? Hells Angels wear 13 on their colors because the 13th letter of the alphabet is M which stands for marijuana. Should players be banned from wearing 13 because it promotes drug abuse? Should EVERY player in The Netherlands be forced to wear 13 for the same reason?

So all those who keep saying Murphy's legs have gone - they haven't, he's just out of his gourd.  :048:

[FatFreddysCat]

I quite rightly got a bollocking from an un named big bald headed moderator for a right wing post i done, but i'm hoping this left wing stuff gets the same treatment. Lets not forget a very very large amount of Foffers ( text right wing jokes), so let's not pretend this is a left wing only board. I've promised to reign my crap in, but i hope it's not a one way thing.

[The Bronsons]

I don't see any of the posts here as left or right wing, Fred. They're anti-Nazi in tone, sure, but the Nazis were mass-murderers. Surely that's something that the Tony Benns and the Norman Tebbits agree on?

[FatFreddysCat]

I don't see any of the posts here as left or right wing, Fred. They're anti-Nazi in tone, sure, but the Nazis were mass-murderers. Surely that's something that the Tony Benns and the Norman Tebbits agree on?

I do see some posts as left or right wing, depends how you look at it. And before you start i'm very pro Israel. Anyhow logging off, i think it's for the best

[finnster01]

I don't see any of the posts here as left or right wing, Fred. They're anti-Nazi in tone, sure, but the Nazis were mass-murderers. Surely that's something that the Tony Benns and the Norman Tebbits agree on?

I do see some posts as left or right wing, depends how you look at it. And before you start i'm very pro Israel. Anyhow logging off, i think it's for the best

Maybe I am overly naive, but all this number 88 stuff was all news to me, believe me or not.

I also think that anything politics, left or right, has no place on here. We are all different but at the end of the day we are all Fulham fans (except Pata)

[Logicalman]

I don't see any of the posts here as left or right wing, Fred. They're anti-Nazi in tone, sure, but the Nazis were mass-murderers. Surely that's something that the Tony Benns and the Norman Tebbits agree on?

I do see some posts as left or right wing, depends how you look at it. And before you start i'm very pro Israel. Anyhow logging off, i think it's for the best

Maybe I am overly naive, but all this number 88 stuff was all news to me, believe me or not.

I also think that anything politics, left or right, has no place on here. We are all different but at the end of the day we are all Fulham fans (except Pata)

I believe you totally Finn, I never even thought of 88 as anything being two fat ladies before I read this thread.

regarding the Left-wing/right-wing inferences, personally I don't think AH stood for anything but himself and a hatred of anything not German. So, sorry Fred, I understand where you're coming from, but I don't think that'll fly too far (about as far as a paperplane I would imagine).

[sipwell]

Regardless of left wing/right wing, I got the answer to the question: for a lot of people on this board the # 88 has no connotation whatsoever. It must be something continental European then. It has probably something to do with the fact that in Belgium, Italy and Germany any expression of (Neo-)Nazism is punished by law (saying "Heil Hitler" in public will get you a prison sentence). There have been a large number of 'codes' going around which gain ground all over the world. The # 88 is the easiest way to get around that...

[TonyGilroy]

I also was completely unaware of any significance to 88. I thought it was the number of piano keys.

I doubt many footballers would be aware of fascist connotations.

[King_Crud]

It only means one thing: the year of Australia's bicentennial. There were lots of parties that year, and Charles & Diana toured. Maybe they secretly loved the nazis and that's why they toured? After all, his father is German........