As a former member of the Future Losers of America Club ... ha! Who am I kidding? I was going to go all emo on you and exaggerate how horrible my prepubescent years were, but to steal a Gilbert Arenas phrase, "my swag was phenomenal" in high school!

I was well-liked, ran with the popular crowd, and was runner-up for dance team captain. (Damn, that Melody! I'm almost positive she stuffed her bra along with a list of other dirty things.)

But I digress (or regress to a delusional state of mind).

Now for the honest-to-God truth: suddenly, it's cool not to be cool.

Three players will be sporting 0 or 00 in this year's Sweet 16: Oregon's Aaron Brooks, Kansas's Darrell Arthur, and UCLA's Russell Westbrook.

What used to be a number reserved for mascots and water boys, err high-quality H20 engineers/distributors, has become the new basketball must-have, especially in the college ranks. At least 20 tournament teams have had a player in the program this season with jersey No. 0 or No. 00.

We can give credit to Mr. Zero to Hero, Gilbert Arenas, for this trend.

See why after the jump.

You know the story: as a freshman, he was told he would play zero minutes for the Arizona Wildcats ... sob, sob, sob ... thoughts of revenge ... hard work ... wears #0 as a badge of honor ... revenge plan in action ... fast forward a bit ... and now he's one of the NBA's premier stars dropping/predicting 50+ points and game-winning buzzer beaters.

Gil tells it better than me, so watch him below:

What's the big mystique about wearing a sign that screams "Soy un Perdedor" while you hoop it up?

Here's what the ballers say:

Gilbert "Agent Zero" Arenas, Washington Wizards: "The zero is a powerful statement. It is for anybody who feels unappreciated or feels like somebody is telling them that they are worth nothing.''

Russell Westbrook, UCLA: "You go with the zero when you've been through something and you are looking to get a new beginning. It helps you get going again. It helps you get the swag back.''

Aaron Brooks, Oregon "No matter who you are, wearing the number means something. It means that you've got to be more than a zero."

Forget the "Nerds," it's Revenge of the Rejects up in here.

"You think I'm a zero? Now watch me score 30."

Take a look: a metal-mouth chick named "Ugly Betty" is the most popular gal on TV, an American Idol castoff has an Oscar and just about every other accolade short of the NFL's defensive player of the year (drug test pending), and no one really cares that Bill Gates looks like a fella who was ruffed up for lunch money on a daily basis in grades K-12. Why? Well, for one, he can buy your sorry ass now -- straight cash, homie.

So when does the Steve Urkel look hit the runway? I have a drawer full of suspenders just dying to hit the town.