3. 9. 23. 13. 99. 42.
No, it’s not a string of lottery numbers.
Dale Earnhardt. Mia Hamm. Michael Jordan. Dan Marino. Wayne Gretzky. Jackie Robinson.
Numbers and sports go hand in hand. They serve a practical purpose, helping officials, coaches, participants, and fans know who’s playing at any given moment, but they’re also imbued with much greater meaning than telling who’s on first and what’s on second. Players are attached to those numerals they wear on the backs of their jerseys, and they all have their own stories to tell about how those random digits came to be the defining symbol of their efforts, abilities, superstitions, and careers.
My own story is simple. I chose 12 because I was 12 when I first started playing organized sports. At the time, I didn’t have any major feelings about numbers. I knew them only as fractions and square roots, so when pressed for a choice, my age seemed to be the best solution. I still hadn’t bonded with 12 when the next season rolled around, but because I had been the only one to wear that uniform so far, I chose 12 again. From that point on, I was hooked. I was 12 whenever I could get it, and when I had to wear 6 and 24, I rationalized by multiplying and dividing to get to my beloved digit.
Players at all levels have different reasons, both logical and ludicrous, for choosing their digits, but each player respects how important the numbers are. Fans follow suit, wearing the numerals just as proudly, whether it’s a father sporting the number of his daughter or a diehard walking around in a replica jersey. The numbers embody something special, something that is hard to put into words, something that is often ethereal when it comes to honoring legends. Who hasn’t seen a simple sticker of the number 3, red and slanted to the right, and not thought of Dale Earnhardt? Isn’t the number 23 synonymous with Michael Jordan? The numbers are arbitrary, but the career achievements they represent are not.
On Sunday, baseball players from every major league team will don the number 42 for the first time in ten years to honor Jackie Robinson, the athlete and the pioneer. There are a lot of things that will be done to commemorate this momentous date. Scores of inspiring interviews, articles, and vignettes will be produced, but there is a beauty in the simplicity of 42. Whether it’s sewn onto the backs of ballplayers’ shirts or scribbled on the inside brim of a fan’s cap, a number is worth a thousand words.
So on Sunday, simply remember 42.
And if you play the lottery with those numbers at the top, remember where you got them.
1 comment:
I always wore "3" as a tribute to my all-time favorite baseball player whose last name is Ripken. No silly, not Cal, who wore 8, but little brother Bill. I'll never forget, I was at Memorial Stadium in Bill's first year...in one of his first at-bats, he got beaned in the head and left the game with a concussion. I felt so bad for him, so I decided to cheer like heck for him if he ever came back (which obviously he did). Plus, as someone who always roots for the underdog, I became the self-proclaimed president of the Bill Ripken fan club, since everyone else in Baltimore idolized Cal. To this day, Bill is still and will always be my favorite player and as I used to say "#3 is #1".
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