I love sports.
That statement should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, even if only from social media. One of my favorite things is to talk about sports. I could do it for hours and on occasion, I have. When this book came across my desk, I was instantly intrigued. I was a huge fan of Mike & Mike in the Morning, so I am very familiar with Mike Greenberg. However, this was the first of his books that I'd read. I was not disappointed.
The premise of the book is simple. He takes the numbers 1-100 and "assigns" each number to an athlete. Some are more obvious. 23 is Michael Jordan because that was his jersey number. 9 is Gordie Howe for the same reason (Side note: As a Carolina Hurricanes fan, I claim the GOAT as one of ours because he played for the Whalers and we used to be the Whalers, so take that "Original 6" fans. 😏) There are others that may not be as obvious but are just as fitting. For example, 88 is for John Wooden's 88-game winning streak at UCLA. 60 is for the 60 matches Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova played against each other in what is the greatest rivalry in sports. (Another side note: This is coming from someone who has had a front-row seat to UNC/Duke, Dallas/Washington, and Yankees/Red Sox for 47 years. Chrissy/Martina is the stuff of legends.)
Perhaps I enjoyed it so much because of the memories it conjured up. Greenberg didn't just go with the long-ago stars. There were plenty of players and moments I saw. I saw Ozzie Smith (honoree for the number 1) play. I remember the backflips he did on the diamond and the St. Louis crowd going nuts. I saw the entire careers of Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter (numbers 23 and 2, respectively). I watched the great Pat Summitt coach. I've met number 43, the King himself, Richard Petty. It took me back to some of the great moments I witnessed. I'll never forget anything about Derek Jeter's last home game in Yankee Stadium. I remember my entire family cheering aloud when Michael Phelps led the Team USA relay group to the Gold Medal. I remember sitting in a restaurant that was full but absolutely silent as the USWNT played for the World Cup.
As I read, I caught myself saying to my mom, "I remember Daddy said..." or "Daddy always thought..." Sports always make me think of my dad. We had innumerable discussions about things like "Which would you rather have, a man who hits .400 or a man who hits 40 home runs?" or "Who are the top 5 running backs of all time?" He knew from an early age that I was going to be a passionate fan. My favorite conversation was when I was I was about 6 years old. He said, "Donna, I know that you are going to be your own person. You have your own mind and you're going to root for some teams different than I do. I only ask 2 things. First is that whichever team you choose, you root for them no matter what, not just when they win. The other is that it can be any team you want except for the University of Alabama or any team from Philadelphia." 😁 That was Daddy, plain and simple. To this day, I would rather go naked than wear an item of Eagles clothing, although I think he would understand about last year's World Series. He wouldn't have wanted Houston to win either.
Like any good sports book, Greenie left room for argument. One of the best things about sports is the fact that there aren't any right or wrong answers (except that Michael Jordan is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be). For all Elway did for Denver, I still say Mickey Mantle should be number 7. My mom, the ever-vigilant Terry Bradshaw fan, took issue with Tom Brady being number 12. Got Your Number is a book written for sports fans by a sports fan. This sports fan says it's the best book that I have read in quite a few years, but don't just take my word for it. The numbers don't lie.
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