People used to say the same thing about hockey. In the past, hockey players would usually wear numbers from 2-29, goalies would be something like 1 or 30.
Then Wayne Gretzky came along wearing #99 (two 9s for his idol Gordie Howe since 9 was unavailable). Phil Esposito got traded and couldn't get the #7 that he wore for years, so he took 77. Mario Lemieux wore 66 (upside down 99). Jaromir Jagr wore 68 in honor of the 1968 "Prague Spring." Now it's extremely common for guys to wear high numbers and no one really cares.
Then Wayne Gretzky came along wearing #99 (two 9s for his idol Gordie Howe since 9 was unavailable). Phil Esposito got traded and couldn't get the #7 that he wore for years, so he took 77. Mario Lemieux wore 66 (upside down 99). Jaromir Jagr wore 68 in honor of the 1968 "Prague Spring." Now it's extremely common for guys to wear high numbers and no one really cares.
