“Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away, the fox remarked, ‘Oh, you aren’t even ripe yet! I don’t need any sour grapes.’ People who speak disparagingly of things that they cannot attain would do well to apply this story to themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Grapes

If the Barger family said that no. 5 was a stupid crappy number and they never liked it in the first place, that would be sour grapes.

First things first, I did not compare Christiano Ronaldo with Jackie Robinson, I compared Bryan Robson to Jackie Robinson. They are legends on their own right. These are the players the numbers refer to, not the one wearing them now. I compared C. Ronaldo to the likes of Bruce Sutter and Mo Vaughn and Mariano Rivera.

Second, although I honestly dislike C. Ronaldo, there is no denying that he is one of the best footballers around. A baseball player with his personality and skill would certainly stand a chance of having his number retired and would be a dead-lock for the hall of fame.

Third, I don’t support Man Utd, I support PSV. Just because someone uses an example does not mean that he has to be a fan of a club. Most supporters have a wider range of knowledge about the sports they follow.

Jackie Robinson was one the great, iconic people in history. Ronaldo is a punk along the likes of Logan Morrison, who thinks his status as a player allows him to be a complete dick to everyone around him, and then cry when someone calls him out on it. Typical Man U, glory-hunting fan.

For those not familiar with soccer, Man U fan = Yankes fan + band wagon + narcissism.

Both sides look bad here. Doesn’t anybody take the high road anymore?

In baseball, people used to wear 42 as a tribute to Jackie Robinson, however by retiring his number throughout the game, you take away this possibility. In football, when Ajax retired number 14, Cruijff mentioned he much rather wanted his number to be reserved for the clubs biggest talents. Manchester United does something like that with their number 7. After Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham wore it, Ferguson persuaded Christiano Ronaldo to wear the number to show his immense promise as a player, and he certainly repaid that trust, in his years at the club.

Great players are remembered for what they did, not for their number. The only thing that retiring numbers does, is take away the possibility for players to play tribute to their heroes.

Apparently Marlins management is tone-deaf to their own extended family too. So it goes.