Ottawa Athletes Talk the Numbers Game
For athletes who play a team sport at Ottawa University, the number on the back of their uniform is a source of tremendous honor and pride.
To some players, the number a person wears carries a lifelong journey of sweat and persistence. The number is a personal flag of merit for each athlete determined to leave their imprint on the field of competition.
Every athlete at OU has their own reasons for choosing each number. Isaiah Palmer, junior forward on the Braves men’s basketball team, wears 13 in honor of his late grandmother, as 13 was her favorite number.
Senior Brock Huber, a catcher on the Braves baseball team, carried the number 6 throughout high school before having to change to 18 upon enrolling at OU. Huber explains he wore 6 in high school because of an upper classmen who was a mentor.
“I wanted to be just like him,” he says.
When asked about the sudden number change, Huber replies: “I was just happy to have a uniform honestly. I’m not superstitious when it comes to numbers”.
Every athlete is proud of their number, and Huber channeled that pride for his number 18 saying, “I hope to impact someone the same way I was impacted in high school and decided to wear 6. I hope they want to wear 18”.
Junior Alexa Romero, a second baseman for the OU Lady Braves softball team, wears 28 -- the number that was just given to her when she came to OU. Romero says she always used to wear 15, as it was passed down through her family members; her grandfather, father, and her older siblings all wore 15. Romero’s grandfather passed away when she was young, and she has kept 15 since. She keeps the number 15 on a necklace, explaining, “I always have it even if I have a different number”.
Michael Sanchez, a junior free safety on the OU Braves football team, used to wear number 23 in high school. On Aug. 23, 2013, Sanchez’s grandmother passed away going into his senior season. Ever since then, Sanchez has felt that 23 had to be his number. But upon coming to OU, Sanchez had to switch because another player on the team had 23.
Sanchez picked 21 as it was the closest he could get to 23. This was also the number of the late free safety for the Washington Redskins, Sean Taylor, who Sanchez emulates as a football player.
“Whoever wears 21 after me, I want them to know that in order to have that number you got to be a baller, you got to love the game, you got to be one of the people on the team that has the most enthusiasm, most hyped up all the time,” Sanchez says. “Whoever wears 21, whether they’re a running back or safety or corner, they just got to make plays.”
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
More oucampus News Articles
- Ottawa wrestling COVID struggles
- Interviews with the Newbies
- Esports takes Ottawa to the next level
- Rebekah Loker Qualifies for ISC Singles National Bowling Championship
Recent oucampus News Articles
Discuss This Article
MOST POPULAR OUCAMPUS
A Safe Holiday Season By Kylee Weber
OU Student experiences plane scare on way back to Ottawa By Brynden Grow
POTW - Logan Smoot By Brynden Grow
GET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
FOLLOW OUR NEWSPAPER
LATEST OUCAMPUS NEWS
RECENT OUCAMPUS CLASSIFIEDS
OUTSIDE THE LINES
- A Story To Sing About
- The Gap in Gum Care: Why Caring For Your Teeth’s F...
- Top Tips for Signature Scents and Better-Smelling Laundry
- A Dog Trainer’s Top Tips to Support Pets Through Life S...
- Clear the Air of Indoor Pollutants This Spring
- Stroke & Dementia in Black Men: Tips for Staying Healthy...
- Hispanics and African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye...
- African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye Disease
- Infinity Kings: Final Book In A Favorite Fantasy Series
- What You Need To Know About Keratoconus and the iLink...
FROM AROUND THE WEB
- 7 Reasons Renting an RV Should Be On Every Family’s S...
- Don’t Let Diabetes Shortchange Your Golden Years
- No Child is Forgotten By Marine Toys for Tots
- Sweeten Your Springtime Salads With Healthy Chilean Grapes
- Young Author Translates 4,000-Year-Old Text to Reveal...
- Keeping Cool and Energy-efficient Amid America’s “...
- Addressing Sarcopenia with a Healthy Diet
- Subway’s New Wraps Elevate Eating on the Go
- Family Teacher Conference Topics Beyond Academics
- Youth Take Down Tobacco
COLLEGE PRESS RELEASES
- Shoff Promotions Comic Book & Sports Card Show
- Semiconductor Research Corp unveils 2024 Research Call, $13.8M Funding
- Charles River Associates Opens Second Scholarship Cycle, Expands to the UK
- BLUMHOUSE AND AMC THEATRES LAUNCH FIRST-EVER HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN FILM FESTIVAL
- THE GEN Z IMPERATIVE: LISTEN TO FEELINGS AND GIVE GEN Z A VOICE