Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Take Five - New Orleans Times Picayune

"Ridiculous," said the voice on the other end of the line. "It would be utterly ridiculous."

The question to Paul Hornung was: "What would you say if the NFL turns down a Saints request that Reggie Bush wear No. 5?"

Oddly enough, the man speaking would have been inside Saints jersey No. 5 in 1967, that is, had he been physically able to perform for the expansion franchise after being plucked from a list of players made available by the Green Bay Packers.

"I understand you have to have rules, but you've got a lot of stupid ones,
and that goes for the NFL," Hornung said. "My favorite rule is the rule of reason. So you have a rule that running backs can't wear a single-digit number. Well, you make an exception. Along comes a guy who makes No. 5 famous during an incredible college career, and you're telling me he can't wear that number as a professional. That makes no sense. What about merchandising? The NFL are masters at that. Think of all the No. 5s the Saints will sell. I can't imagine Reggie wearing 15, 25, 35. He belongs in No. 5."

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