Jon Wilkin says fans who do this are “weird”

The Bench podcast is always the home of a bold opinion or two which is what makes it a good listen.

Recently Kyle Amor and Jon Wilkin shared their disdain for team songs sung by teams after they have won and now Wilkin has named another eccentricity in sport as “weird.”

This is full grown adults wearing a shirt with a name and number on the back of it.

He said:

“So going into the club shop, a woman 60-years-old goes into the shop and gets Kenny-Dowall and number four on the back of their shirt, and then she wears it.

“It makes me feel uncomfortable. You know when your bus is pulling into a ground, and I didn’t see many with my name, but you see a grown man walking down with number nine James Roby on his back. I just think ‘that’s weird’.

“I don’t like it, I don’t know why. For a grown person to have that it’s like collecting toys as an adult, it’s weird.”

Of course this is an option every team in Super League offers.

It is common place in football but maybe less so in rugby league though still frequent.

Interestingly, perhaps the most common name and number on the back of shirts today is Burrow 7 for the inspirational Rob Burrow.

Wilkin would no doubt have no problem with that.