I must admit, I’ve never much considered myself a sporting purist.
Baseball gets most of the attention for attracting purists, and I actually admire those folks. I just don’t think I qualify. I like the designated hitter. I like the pitch clock. Hell, even the extra-inning ghost runner has grown on me. If I ever belonged to the Holy See of Baseball, I would have probably long been excommunicated.
My longtime friend and mentor Bob Ryan will yell at me for this but … I like the 3-pointer in basketball. I don’t mind at all that the game is played outside-in now, and not inside-out. That fact alone probably means I’m banned from all future meetings of the Society of Basketball Purists. I was a shot-clock fan when it wasn’t cool to be a shot-clock fan. That one probably endangered my membership, as I think about it.
But football?
Truly, one of the glories of football is that it has long had a dearth of purists, at least as the term is defined by the other sports. Yes, there are many who make fun of the way the quarterback is babied now. Every week draws more bellows of when-men-were-men talk when a flag is thrown because someone tackled someone with a bone-crushing hit that in days gone by would’ve yielded a yawn, not 15 yards. Maybe you think they throw the ball too much now, and you yearn for more grounding and pounding. But I don’t think that necessarily speaks to purism.
But I think this does:
I can’t stop looking at the pictures of Teddy Bridgewater.
If you missed it, Bridgewater, the well-traveled quarterback who spent 15 minutes in training camp with the Jets a few years ago, is playing for the Detroit Lions now. In his five previous stops around the league — Minnesota, New Orleans, Carolina, Denver and Miami — he has worn No. 5. Now, No. 5 isn’t the most natural looking number for a quarterback, but there have been a few notables: Joe Flacco won a Super Bowl as No. 5. Donovan McNabb came close at No. 5. Kerry Collins had a few quality seasons with the Giants at No. 5.
It isn’t 12, but it’s still a quarterback number.
Bridgewater is wearing No. 50 with the Lions.
Now, this is a temporary thing. The NFL allows players to wear any number they like during the preseason, and since Bridgewater was a late addition to the Lions’ camp, most of the traditional quarterback numbers were already snapped up. The man who presently wears 5, running back David Montgomery, told ESPN he’d be open to swapping numbers — assuming Bridgewater makes the team — since the NFL gets more serious during the regular season and requires quarterbacks to wear numbers in the 1-19 range.
And I am officially torn.
I admire folks who think outside the envelope, and have always found the NFL’s obsession with proper numbers to be silly. I was delighted when they softened the rules slightly, allowing for a Micah Parsons to wear 11 despite playing both linebacker (which used to be exclusively a number in the 50s) and defensive end (almost always in the 70s, 80s or 90s). I liked Plaxico Burress at 17, and Keyshawn Johnson at 19, since at certain times in NFL history they’d have been consigned to 81 or 88.
That said?
A quarterback wearing 50 just feels … weird. I can’t help it. It just does. It’s like a pitcher who wears a single digit. It’s like a center who wears a 1. There’s nothing wrong with it. There’s less than nothing wrong with it. In a vacuum, a player should be able to wear whatever number is available to them, unless it’s been previously retired or is already occupied by a teammate who’s similarly fond of it.
(And, once more, kudos to Aaron Rodgers for not making 12 an issue, even if it seems it would’ve bothered Jets fans more than Joe Namath.)
But … what can I tell you? I guess I’m a numbers purist. I don’t think it’s awful that so many great quarterbacks wore 12, and that so many were great at 16, and that Peyton Manning and Johnny Unitas almost feel like crazy outliers because they pushed it to 18 and 19.
I’m sure I’d get used to it. Hell, if I can get used to intentional walks where not one ball is actually thrown, I can get used to just about anything. But I must admit, I’ll be as happy as Teddy if he takes a snap this year with his old No. 5. Unless he wants to take up linebacking in his spare time.
Vac’s Whacks
Remember how Pete Rose was serenaded with boos at Shea Stadium the rest of his career after his heel-turn slam of Buddy Harrelson in the 1973 playoffs? I suspect Pete Alonso can expect the same treatment in St. Louis for the duration after chucking Masyn Winn’s first-hit ball in the stands Friday night, no matter how fervent (and, clearly, genuine) his apologies.
Former Columbia defensive back Bryan Bell-Anderson completed his first SlamBall season this week by winning the dunk contest live on ESPN2 from Las Vegas and drawing raves from Marshawn Lynch in the announcers booth. Anderson’s dunks included taking the ball from between his knees then soaring over his dad and coach, Trevor, while clad in his Lions jersey.
I’m not sure if the Jets are going to be any good or not, but I do believe the mentalist who’s been the best part of “Hard Knocks” so far is a shoo-in for the Pro Bowl.
Let the word go forth from this time and place: I have officially hopped on the Liberty bandwagon.
Whack Back at Vac
Joe Nugent: On vacation with my entire family in LBI. Cable in the house stinks. No YES, SNY or MLB Network. It has been the best week of the entire summer!
Vac: As the old ad used to say … “Baseball Fever: Catch It!”
Jack Anez: Mike, I lived through the horrific CBS ownership of the Yankees (1964-73), and now I am going through an even more horrific CBS (Cashman, Boone & Steinbrenner) ownership. Help!
Vac: When my readers come up with better ideas than I do? That’s what you call one lucky scribe.
@lawlyburger: Ron Guidry was in center field and Don Mattingly at second base when the Pine Tar Game resumed. I was also at Shea that night. When R.E.M. took the stage it was raining. I told my friends that R.E.M. stands for “Rained Every Minute.” During “So Lonely” Sting remarked “how can you feel lonely among 70,000 people …”
@MikeVacc: I also remember Sting commanding the masses to “scream so loud they can hear you in New Jersey!” and I believe we did so faithfully.
Rob Feursetein: As much as Sean Casey and Andy Pettitte have helped the Yankees play better, maybe they should hire Mickey Rivers to help the players manage their money?
Vac: I’ve come to learn this summer that frustrated Yankees fans are also funny Yankees fans.
