Numbers, Part One

Numbers in sports are funny things.

People can be very attached to numbers as if they somehow point towards an essential identity.  Some numbers on some jerseys come to transcend even the huge names attached to them. That is, a #9 Detroit Red Wings jersey does not need the name "Howe" on the back to sell; same goes, of course, for a #23 Chicago Bulls jersey -- it just means Jordan. People buy them without names and they hang in stadiums without names.

But numbers are often assigned casually, without much thought. In American football, position determines numbers. If you are in the 50s thru 70s you are a linemen (or lineperson!). So: some players care about numbers, others don't.

Kids mostly care. They want a certain number even if they don't always fully understand why they want the number. I remember being disappointed with my first assigned number -- 14 -- for the St. Clair Shores Mars Collision Green Hornets hockey team. The Red Wing who wore 14 was a very solid player, Nick Libbett, but he was not Marcel Dionne or Mickey Redmond, the kind of player kids imitate in the backyard (back when kids played in the backyard). Somehow, we imagined the number would imbue us with the spirit of its more famous holders. But by the time I got to my next team, the Harper Woods Sportshop Black Satans, I didn't care that I was number #16. My parents and other parents cared very much about the team name because it limited how much and where we could wear our jackets -- but team names are for another post. My number at Michigan State before I quit was 65. It went to Tony Mandarich, the monster Canadian offensive tackle that Sports Illustrated called the "biggest bust" in NFL draft history. Perhaps, but he did the jersey proud compared to its previous holder.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, what's in a number?

Here some reflections, then, on Force U12 team numbers keeping in mind I don't know anything about soccer numbers:
#3 -- Zoe. The Babe wore this number. Babe Ruth, perhaps the greatest hitter and personality in baseball. The guy who made the New York Yankees the Yankees. Does it fit? Kind of. Zoe can make a team a team. But Ruth is too individualistic as far as I have heard. Zoe is team through and through. I can't think of other good 3s that fit: Allen Iverson, Dwayne Wade, Bronco Nagurski. Maybe race car driver Dale Earnhardt? We would have to ask her Dad to post a comment on that one? Don't know enough about race car drivers.

#4 -- Sophie.  Bobby Orr wore this number. The second or third greatest hockey player of all time. Certainly the best defenseman. He was beautiful to watch. Nobody skated better. He had blond, full hair and his mad dashes from end to end can still thrill you on youtube. Click below -- you have to see it to believe it. Ran into knee trouble all too early though. Yikes!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zewytx4Pfu8
 #7 -- Anastasia. Well, there is a soccer number I know. David Beckham. Anastasia can take a mean corner kick. Couldn't find any free Beckham images that were, well, postable. That's some marketing machinery. Given her goalscoring knack I also think Phil Esposito, Orr's teammate on the Boston Bruins, who could put the puck in the net. Ted Lindsay, of course. Detroit tough guy. But Anastasia is way too nice. Mickey Mantle?
#8 -- Sophia.Too me 8 signals excellence and durability. Cal Ripken, jr., the Iron Man of baseball, wore this number. Skilled beyond belief. Yogi Berra, too. I would have to talk to Sophia more to see if this fits. Steve Young? Carl Yazstremski (more skill and durability).
#10 -- Rhea. Okay. No fair having older siblings in soccer and nabbing another soccer number. Pele, right? Rhea certainly has an elegant game. Also Maradonna (too short), Rooney (too English--Rhea doesn't look at all like an actor on Coronation Street ), Zinedine (Rhea wouldn't headbutt). Guy Lafleur, the graceful Montreal Canadiens winger, is a good match. Walt Frazier in hoops. See, too, Coach Cookie's profile.