The Meaning of Headlines: 'your number is up'

The Meaning of Headlines: 'your number is up' - sports

The International New York Times on August 7, 2015, displayed the following headline about American college football in its Sports section: ‘Number may be up for some jersey sales.’ What does ‘your number is up’ mean?

The Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary & Thesaurus defines the idiom as: ‘when your number is up, you are going to die.’ Surely not! But yes, it does mean that. So what does it have to do with college football? It reminds me of the Steve Taylor song set in a college, Watcha Gonna Do When Your Number’s Up?

The article is about the sales of college football jersey numbers. For example, fans buy and collect officially licensed football jerseys through their football clubs. The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) prohibits colleges from selling jerseys with players’ names on them. So what does it mean if ‘your number is up’ and what does it have to do with college jersey names? Nothing – that was just the article introduction.

The article is related to the numbers that football players wear on their jerseys. Fans buy, not only college jerseys with players’ names (no longer permissible to be sold), but also with players’ numbers. I still remember my favourite player’s jersey number – and it’s still a favourite number (it happens to be 11). The article explains that the federal court in America is currently deliberating whether it is fair for universities and colleges to make money from the commercial use of athletes’ names, images, and likenesses. While waiting for the court ruling, some colleges have ‘quietly decided to stop selling team jerseys with popular players’ numbers.’

The author says his investigations revealed that ‘current players and their families … want jerseys with their numbers on them available to be sold.’ Some colleges seek permission from players to sell jerseys with their number, and some colleges obtain a signed permission form.

Apparently jersey sales constitute only 5% of college clothing sales, so it won’t have large financial ramifications if colleges are not permitted to sell jerseys with numbers on them – well, they can sell jerseys with 2015, for example, or any number that is not a player’s number. The article is virtually asking the same question as singer Steve Taylor – whatcha gonna do colleges when your number’s up – or more correctly, when the players’ numbers are up? That is, if and when the number of players cannot be sold on jerseys. The use of numbers will be a ‘dead’ issue.

But, if the ruling determines that jerseys cannot be sold with players’ numbers on them, should the headline have stated that the number may be ‘up’ – or should the headline have stated that the number may be ‘down’ or even ‘off’? Watcha gonna do when your number’s off? It doesn’t sound right, does it?

Scorecard for The International New York Times headline is 101%. The headline is related to numbers, and sales, and nostalgia, and fans, and college football. So why 101% when percentages are capped at 100%. I just made a ruling to take a number up.

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