FSU Football alums join pointless debate over color of jersey numbers

FSU football went from white number to gold numbers on their home uniforms starting with the 2014 season and some people are still sour over the move.

If anything, the last few seasons for the FSU football team have exposed several issues within the program – both on the field, where you have coaches and players that don’t seem like they want to be there or shouldn’t be there (and bolt for big pay days) and some members of the fan base who complain about EVERYTHING.

From the time of game kickoffs to the redesign of the jerseys and helmets that happened five years ago, there is a segment of those in garnet and gold who are either stuck living in the past or just want to find something to whine about – moves that put a negative light on the rest of the fan base that stands behind the Seminoles no matter what.

It has even gone so far that one FSU football fan, an aspiring rapper from the Tallahassee area named TaReef Knockout, actually took time out of his life to make a Change.org petition asking Nike to put white numbers back on the garnet jerseys after the company changed them to gold following the uniform overhaul in 2014.

"Our home uniforms were altered to gold numbers, instead of the traditional white numbers FSU fans have grown accustomed to. I am on the forefront of bringing back our white numbers, and fixing this issue with FSU Football and Nike. I know I speak for a majority of Nole Nation on this needed change."

TaReef actually doesn’t speak for a majority of FSU football fans as so far just over 4,100 people signed the petition as of Monday afternoon – so Mr. Knockout and his supporters still have a way to go before even thinking about presenting it to Nike.

In recent days though, the movement got more attention when both former quarterback Jameis Winston and defensive back Antonio Cromartie voiced their supporter to the effort to go back to the past.

It is insane to think that with all the things going on within the FSU football program – including recovering from the first losing season in decades – that there is a segment of the fan base who is actually putting all of their concern into one man’s opinion about the color of a jersey number and blindly following him just because it’s easier to live in the past.

The notion that FSU football is defined by what color the jersey number is might be the most insane thing I have heard in a while. For a majority of the first half century of the program, gold wasn’t even on the jersey despite being one of the two official colors – with a more yellowish color  being the accent color until a uniform overhaul before the 1997 season.

I grew up as a fan of FSU football when the uniform numbers were white…I was a student when they were white and have been an alumni and booster when they were white…but the loyalty is to the school and program, not what color the jersey number is.

The uniform numbers being gold isn’t the problem with the Seminoles’ program right now – the segment of people who continue being negative about everything because they won’t stop living in the past is the bigger problem in my opinion (and I think I speak for a “majority of Nole Nation”).