Michigan Well Represented On Greatest Athletes’ Numbers’ List

The first thing you need to do is take a deep breath when you scroll through a list like the one newarena.com has published. The topic is the greatest athletes to wear a particular jersey number. If you go in knowing that this is just subjective opinion, it will make your blood boil a tad less.

Remember, sports without passion is just games.

If you grew up in Michigan, there are going to be some names you'd expect to see on this kind of list. #9 and #20 are just a couple that come to mind. And those those two are there. Gordie Howe's #9. Barry Sanders' #20.

Here's one you may nothing immediately associate with Michigan. Tom Brady's #12. But he did play for the Maize and Blue before becoming who some say is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) in the NFL.

There are a couple that will raise the blood pressure, one in each direction. East Lansing's Earvin "Magic" Johnson got the nod from newarena.com over Jim Brown, widely regarded as maybe the best football player of all time. At the same time, the list snubs Walter Payton with Shaquille O'Neal, and completely ignore #51 Dick Butkus, maybe the greatest linebacker in the history of the NFL.

Actually, the Red Wings are represented well, because some stars wore numbers less popular sweater numbers. Hall of Fame goalie Dominik Hasek wore #39, and Hall of Fame winger Sergei Federov wore #91. Federov being one of the Red Wings' Russian Five.

If you get upset about a particular snub, check the small fonts first, for the honorable mentions: Kalamazoo's Derek Jeter's #2 behind basketball's Moses Malone.

Several numbers are simply no brainers. Michael Jordan's #23, or Willie Mays' #24. Just in the past few weeks we've been reminded how they are probably the GOATs in their sports. As much as Gibby hit a famous home run, still Jordan was, well, Jordan.