Numerology With Warren Sapp
May 2nd, 2013
There is so much to write about today with the announcement that Warren Sapp will be the next man in the Bucs Ring of Honor, and will have his No. 99 retired, Joe doesn’t know where to start, or end.
Sapp held court with the Bucs pen and mic club for about an hour after the ceremony and, my goodness, Joe cannot understand how Sapp hasn’t hosted Saturday Night Live. The guy’s personality is bigger than life.
Anyway, Sapp spoke about the oddities of numbers, his numbers and those of his treasured teammate and friend, Derrick Brooks.
“Anybody that knows me knows or follows me on Twitter knows about 11:11,” Sapp said. “It’s a good luck thing from when I was a kid. Whenever it’s 11:11 you are supposed to make a wish.”
And growing up in the orange groves of central Florida, Sapp wanted to get out. And if his wish really came true he’d play in the NFL.
He got more than his wish.
Sapp pointed out how he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Feb. 2. “Oh-two, oh-two,” Sapp said. The date: 02/02.
Then, the icing on the cake, his number, 99, will be retired on Nov. 11. For those counting at home, that would be 11:11. Sapp’s wish upon a dream.
And it gets better.
“Ninety-nine and fifty-five, he’s right behind me,” Sapp said.
That would be double-nickel, Derrick Brooks, who was absent from today’s festivities despite loads of Sapp‘s former teammates and coaches in the house.
“He better be studying tape of the Tampa Bay Storm,” Sapp said, shaking his head.
May 2nd, 2013 at 4:00 pm
he also won the super bowl in the 2002 season
May 2nd, 2013 at 4:24 pm
Sapp is a Boss’ no way around it. He is an amazing and polarizing figure.
I hope GMC gets freed up with Spence and starts putting up Sapp-like statistics. I hope the Revis effect pays dividends.
May 2nd, 2013 at 4:27 pm
lol looking at the faces of those two hall of famers you would guess that sapp had a perfect draft day and brooks and awful one when in fact it was the other way around.
May 3rd, 2013 at 12:00 am
SteveK,
GMC will never have the stats that Sapp had. I distinctly remember the highlight reels shown in the draft when Suh and then McCoy was drafted. In Suh’s segment, he was constantly demolishing QBs or RBs, tossing aside lineman like dolls. McCoy was different. I don’t think he actually made a tackle in his highlight video. He would run by the lineman like tackling dummies and blow up the play, but not end it.
I’m not sure if you’re into other sports, but I think there is a good Basketball analogy. Warren Sapp was the Michael Jordan of 3-tech DTs, McCoy is a Steve Nash. Both Michael Jordan and Steve Nash will be in the Hall of Fame (not saying McCoy is a HoF’er yet), but there games were very different.
I hope I’m wrong, nothing would please me more than seeing McCoy destroy some QBs and RBs. I think the more reasonable scenario, if he’s doing his job and the secondary does it’s job, is both of our DEs end with double digit sacks.
One thing that stands out to me about McCoy is that he made the Pro Bowl last year. He was no where in the fan vote. That means he was rated so highly by coaches and players that it more than made up the difference for being invisible to fans. That’s pretty impressive to me.
May 3rd, 2013 at 6:53 am
Also. 02 02 plus 9 9 could be seen as 11 11.