Well, it’s time for lucky #13. A quick story before I go to the athlete. When I retired from varsity baseball, I had been the head coach for 13 years. I was done, but I contemplated going one more just so it was 14 instead of 13. I didn’t want to temp the unlucky number. Penny assured me it used to be a lucky number, and I soon realized it was ridiculous basing my decision on the number 13. So I retired from coaching. Since that day, the number 13 appears in my life all the time. I look at the clock and it’s 2:13. When my father-in-law died, Penny wanted me to sing a tribute song from Zac Brown for him. Yep, “Martin” was the 13th song on the CD for a man that was born in 1913. After a while, I figured I’d rather switch than fight it, so I’ve embraced 13 as my lucky number. And as I am on the brink of real retirement, I am going out with the class of 2013. Maybe that’s what it was all about. (And….did you notice that #13 popped up on May 13th?) My brother’s birthday!! Happy B-Day Bro!
So there are two obvious 13’s for me. Wilt Chamberlin was the center that helped bring the Lakers their first championship on May 7, 1972. It was probably the most important championship in my life because I was desperate for the Lakers and especially Jerry West to win one after so many heartbreaks against the dreaded Celtics, a team I hate to this day.
But, alas, I have to go to another 13. The QB who led the Rams to their only Super Bowl win on January 30, 2000. What made me pick him over my most memorable championship and Chamberlin, is the unbelievable story of rising out of the ashes of to the top of the football pyramid. In college at Northern Iowa, he was a third string QB until his senior year. He got the job and won Player of the Year in his conference. He then went undrafted in the NFL. He went to camp unsigned with the Packers, and they released him. So he went to work in a grocery store stocking shelves, and he tells stories about how he threw toilet paper rolls in the store like a football. Then he signed in the Arena League for a year. In the two years he played, he led his team to the Arena Bowl. Then in 1998, he signed with the Rams, but was destined to be a back-up. When Trent Green, the starting QB tore his knee up in pre-season, the job was Warner’s and the rest is history. After all the heartbreaks, I never thought I’d see the Rams win a Super Bowl, and for that I thank you Kurt Warner, and that’s why you are my lucky #13.
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