Forum: Story Ideas

Some college teams have so many players some of them wear the same number.

What, surely someone has figured out how to get three digits on the back of a jersey? A 999-person squad? Why not? As for the proposed story, I think a character list will be in order.

Kind of in line with the winning strategy my father outlined when we were little: give each team member a football and have them all run like hell for the opposing team's end zone. Boom---66 points at a shot.

(Hell, it seemed like a pretty good idea when we were in third grade.)

bb

The NCAA has so many rules, I am sure there must be one requiring one or two digits for uniform numbers.

uniforms numbers come from the NFL setting the rules for all versions of the sport of American Football.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_number_(American_football)

I wouldn't call them common, but they certainly exist. I remember reading 10 years or so ago that two high schools in death valley had to get together to hold a joint prom.

Let me guess, a boy's colloquial school and a girl's Catholic single-sex school? Otherwise, what's to stop five couple from holding their own prom at their home?

@Ernest

Numbering in Basketball Unless it's changed in the last decade, the legal numbers for basketball are 4 to 15 (no leading zero), 21-25, 31-35, 41-45, 51-55.

Except, if the number starts with double-zero ("00"), that means they're allowed to kill the other players, by orders of the Queen herself.

Most people have no idea how small rural towns, the classic small town America where everyone knows everyone, really get.

Yeah, I got it. I was making another stupid joke. I've been to several small towns (Frogsburro, anyone--although that's actually a larger town in N.C.). My mother was also from a fairly remote section of W.V., so I'm familiar with the whole 'mountain folk' personna.

On a side note, although it's 30 miles between the two schools, hopefully they don't have to row a boat (like my mother did) uphill in both direction to reach it. :)

Except, if the number starts with double-zero ("00"), that means they're allowed to kill the other players, by orders of the Queen herself.

Only if they're British, Old Chap.

Ernest - Perhaps your comment was meant to be sarcastic but the NFL does not rule all sports in the US.

I'm aware of that, and didn't say it did, but pointed out the peak body for that sport set the rules on numbers, and you'll find the same is true for most sports.

In normal basketball competitions the allowed numbers are set by the International Body on basketball as having a restricted set of one and two digit numbers, exact numbers have varied over the years. I expect the same is true for all sports. I don't know why the NCAA allowed a a third character or number, but it was against the International body rules.

Ernest, did you mean by this that the "top" level of a particular sport sets the rules for the lower levels?

G'day Bondsman,

In most sports the usual situation is the top body, sometimes called the Peak Body, controls the rules and the rules include setting out what is valid in a uniform and what isn't. Numbers are part of a uniform. There are various advantages with regards to being linked to the Peak body, such as ability to participate in sport at the International level, and recognition of outstanding performances. If you aren't linked to them in some way you can't participate in the sport with any organisation linked with them. Also, in general, the organisation has to play according to their rules. I say in general because there are often some limited exemptions to the rules for local novelty and charity events where they don't play by the normal rules. Also, in general, a player registered with a linked organisation can not play in a game by an organisation that isn't linked.

The usual set of layers are:

International body

National body

State body

Regional body

Local body

In some cases layers may merge into one body, and there are sometimes more than one organisation at a level.

In some sports individual competitions have to be registered, as well as the organisation, to be eligible for certain aspects within the sport. It's this event recognition which leads to some people in running performing better than the current national, state, or world record at an approved event but not recognised as a record because the event organizers hadn't taken the last step to have it fully recognised or it hadn't yet met all the rules for such a level of recognition.

The most well known examples of going outside the recognised structure above are the two cases of renegade cricket players who left the recognised system to play in a better paying unlinked competition. The same has happened with regards to various other sports. Usually the renegade organisation gets absorbed back into the main body at some later date.

Numbering in Basketball Unless it's changed in the last decade, the legal numbers for basketball are 4 to 15 (no leading zero), 21-25, 31-35, 41-45, 51-55. For a very long time it was only 4 to 15, then the numbering was expanded due to the influence of professional basketball in the US wanting more numbers. The numbers are limited to what a referee can easily signal with their hands, and the numbers 1, 2, and 3, were excluded because they relate to various other call signals the referees make with their hands, and they didn't want them confused with player numbers.

I'd wager that the majority of high-school football teams in this country fall into this category, given the number of smaller, rural school districts.

Especially if you play for an all-girls school! Puts an entirely different twist on the story, doesn't it?

I did say sister 2 would have sex with some of the football team not all of the football team.

On a side note, as a long-time ago book nerd, who does it always have to be the football team? Couldn't it just as easily be the debate team, band or even, gasp, the Chess Club? ;-D Not everyone with a 12" dick plays football!

Pardon me, but from my experience, all teenage boys spend the majority of their time thinking about sex.

It's a paraphrase of a line from one of the Revenge of the Nerds movies.

Oops! Sorry. I missed the reference, never having seen the movies.

I was thinking Sister 2 would try everything that she could to fit in or be the most popular girl in school. And that's one reason her sister growing bigger tits ticks her off. And because football is the biggest thing in her school she'd want to do it with some of the football team.

Except, that premise fails the 'sniff test'. If she upset that her sister is suddenly more attractive, then WTF would she arrange for the football team to ball her sister, which only serves to focus more attention on the sister while making a mockery of herself (i.e. the sister no one wants to fuck). (Note: rereading the description, I realize that's not what was proposed, that sister 2 get counter tricked into screwing the football team, but it doesn't change her motivations, which is to get her sister screwed by said football team. For me, for the story to be successful, you'd have to resolve that dilemma, otherwise it wouldn't make much sense and the entire situation seems forced, rather than a natural progression.)

I'll admit, it's an interesting setup, but the story appears to be weak on the execution phase.

It's titled I Was Blindfolded. I hope you like it.

I suspect the shorter and more direct "Blindfold" or "Blindfolded" would make for a stronger title (passive voice again). The "I" is generally assumed and doesn't add much. The whole point of the title is to invoke the readers curiosity, if they want more detail, they'll read the story description. That's why character names are popular, while also commonly failing! How much curiosity does "Mary" provoke? :D

But then, you may not want to follow my advice, as I've used titles like "The Lad Who Poked the Devil in the Eye" before. :)