Buffalo Bills wide receiver Lee Evans once paid $20,000 to a teammate for the ability to wear the number 83. Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis agreed to pay $40,000 to a teammate for the number 26 (but didn't actually pay it all; that's a whole different story). Former Philadelphia Phillies slugger John Kruk traded his number 28 to pitcher Mitch Williams for two cases of beer. (Hopefully not Natty.)
As these cases show, athletes enjoy wearing particular jersey numbers, and some are even willing to shell out cash to ensure they can have certain digits on their backs. Every number has a story, and I wanted to find out the stories behind the numbers worn by the Virginia men's basketball team. As it turned out, there were some common themes behind the numerology that goes into jersey picking.
Story number one: Sophomore Will Harris wore number one last year, but gave it up to freshman Jeff Jones over the summer. Harris clarified his decision to make the change, while Jones explained why No. 1 is not a lonely number, but rather the number of a leader.
Harris, No. 43: "Coming in as a freshman, I really expected a lot more from myself than what I contributed last year. I just felt like, maybe something new would change the fortune a little bit. And Jeff wanted to wear number one, and it was his freshman year coming in, and I wanted to make him as comfortable as possible. So I just went ahead and went with a number change."
As for why he picked No. 43: "I always wanted to wear number seven when I was younger, and you can't wear number seven in college, so I tried to add it up."
Jones, No. 1: "Plain and simple. Everybody wants to be number one. I don't mean that in a cocky way or an arrogant way, but in everything I do -- in drills, I want to be first. First to the gym. I want to be number one in the country. I want to be the best, and number one is the best. The only way you get like that is hard work."
Story number two: Some numbers are picked because of simple reasons, like one's birthday (such as freshman Mustapha Farrakhan, born Nov. 2), or because a player wore the number previously and is just accustomed to it (as is the case for senior Ryan Pettinella, who carried his number from UPenn to U.Va.), or as a result of some "creative math" (which freshman Sam Zeglinski understands).
Farrakhan, No. 2: "I wanted number two my freshman year in high school, but somebody else took it because they were older than me. I was a freshman so I couldn't get it, so I never got the opportunity to get the number. But when I saw when I came here that J.R. [Reynolds] was leaving, I asked J.R. if I could wear it. He let me wear it, so I was happy about that."
Pettinella, No. 34: "Well, in high school I was number three. When I went to Penn, three was already taken. I always liked four, so I said, 'What the heck, I'll go three and four and make 34.'"
Zeglinski, No. 13: "Some people say my game reminds them of Steve Nash, who's number 13. Also, I was [number one] or three [before college], but I couldn't be one because Jeff is one, and three is retired, so [I put the numbers] together."
Story number three: Some numbers are picked because they have great significance to an athlete for a variety of reasons. For sophomore Mamadi Diane, the number's importance pertains to basketball; for junior Lars Mikalauskus, it's about national pride; for senior Sean Singletary, the jersey is worn as a tribute to his mother.
Diane, No. 24: "My sophomore year in high school, I changed schools, and I had always been 25, but somebody had it, so I was given 24. Coming into that season I was just struggling to make the team. By the end of the season I was starting and probably the best player on the team. So the next year, when it came time to choose again, I thought just the number and what I'd been through that year meant so much. It stuck with me since then, since 10th grade."
Mikalauskus, No. 11: "All the best players in my country wear number 11. When I came to high school, accidentally the coach gave me number 11. He didn't really know. I always liked it, and it's been my lucky number, and it's been so good so far."
(In case you were wondering, other notable Lithuanian big men to wear that number are Zydrunas Ilgauskus and Arvydas Sabonis.)
Singletary, No. 44: "I started wearing the number before I came to Virginia. The reason why I wear the number is dedication to my mother, because at that age she was beginning to get sick. When she was 44 years old, that's when the signs of cancer started to show."
Thankfully, Singletary's mother is in remission. It adds a nice sentimental touch, then, to see numbers of students and fans wearing the No. 44 jersey around Grounds and at games at John Paul Jones Arena.
"I appreciate it, and every time I see it or every time I put it on I just think about my mother, and all the great things she's done for me and to put me in the type of position to be successful in life," Singletary said.
For athletes like Singletary, the jersey number can have great significance. In the grand scheme of things, though, do the digits on the jersey really matter for everyone? Some say yes -- ask Lee Evans -- but some say they really don't.
"In the end, it's just a number," Zeglinski said.
I wonder if he'd still feel that way if someone offered him $20,000 for his (un)lucky number.
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