https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/rules-changes/nfl-jerse...
Linemen are required to wear higher numbers so it's no surprise that people automatically associate higher numbers with bigger people.
I love this so much
It’s such a great proof at how absolutely fundamentally tragically terrible humans are at evaluating things consistently based on purely sense perception.
I wore "11" as a sophomore HS running back, then moved to "40" for my junior & senior years. I gained almost zero weight (or muscle), but I swear I looked GOOD with those skinny ones on my front & back.
I remember my teammates being extremely picky about which numbers they’d wear and I always caught grief for wearing #8 as a running back since it’s thought of as a QB number (Troy Aikman, Steve Young). In hindsight maybe they were on to something.
Gretzky seemed to do just fine with 99...
This seems similar to observing that vertical and horizontal stripes on clothes (and the width of the stripes) can affect how one perceives a silhouette.
No way this replicates. Classic junk psychology result.
To level the play field all players must wear 3 digit numbers and the numbers 1, 0 and 7 will not be allowed
[flagged]
...in american football.
Context and history matter as this is the complete opposite for soccer:
- Smaller numbers go to the defenders and big guys
- Larger numbers are given to younger & academy player
- Numbers like 7, 9, 10, 8 & 6 all have a specific meaning on the pitch
So yeah, numbers matter, but so does everything else.