Playoff beard

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A bearded Darren McCarty hoisting the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008. Darren McCarty with the Stanley Cup - 2002.jpg
A bearded Darren McCarty hoisting the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.

A playoff beard is the superstitious practice of male athletes not shaving their beards during playoffs. Playoff beards were introduced by ice hockey players participating in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and are now a tradition in many sports leagues. Many fans of professional sports teams also grow playoff beards. The player stops shaving when his team enters the playoffs and does not shave until his team is eliminated or wins the Stanley Cup (or equivalent championship).

Contents

The tradition was started in the 1980s. The 1984–85 Detroit Red Wings were the first team documented to wear them. Wings forwards Ivan Boldirev and Danny Gare began the practice in Jan. 1985, trying to inspire the team to win four straight games. Defenseman Brad Park called it his "playoff beard" - thus coining the phrase. [1] Sometime in the 1980's the New York Islanders also decided to do so; [2] and according to Islander Mike Bossy, was likely started by teammate Butch Goring. The tradition is also practiced by nearly all North American hockey leagues, including high school leagues and the NCAA hockey teams, as well as minor league affiliates. [3] According to some observers, one may trim the beard after a loss in an effort to change the team's luck; Jim Dowd and Roberto Luongo are examples of players who did this. [4] [5] [6]

History

The 1984–85 Detroit Red Wings were the first team documented to wear them. Wings forwards Ivan Boldirev and Danny Gare began the practice in Jan. 1985, trying to inspire the team to win four straight games. Defenseman Brad Park called it his "playoff beard" - thus coining the phrase. (from the Detroit Free Press, Feb. 3, 1985 - article by Bernie Czarniecki). Hall of Famer Denis Potvin says that the Islanders of the 1980s would "play four games in five nights in the first round and it was just something that kind of happened." [7] The 1980 Islanders included two Swedish players (Stefan Persson and Anders Kallur), so it is possible that tennis champion Björn Borg's custom of not shaving his beard during Wimbledon, which he had been doing for several years by that time, was an influence on the start of the practice in hockey. [8] Some players have said the beard is both a reminder of team unity and a way to get a player thinking about the playoffs from the moment he looks in the mirror in the morning. [7] The 2009 Red Wings used the slogan "The beard is back" for the final series of their 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs run. They played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals that year (won by Pittsburgh) in which most of the players of both teams (and the owner of the Penguins, Mario Lemieux) grew beards.

In 2009, the Beard-a-thon [9] campaign was launched to encourage fans to grow their own playoff beards for charity. In its first four years, more than 22,000 NHL fans participated in the "Beard-a-thon" and raised over two million dollars for charities. [10]

In June 2015, Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports (who is the U.S. rightsholder of the league), told the Chicago Tribune that he had been lobbying the NHL to discourage the practice, arguing that it hinders the ability for viewers to recognize players. [11]

Other sports

The playoff beard has expanded into Major League Baseball (MLB), the Canadian Football League (CFL), the National Football League (NFL) and, to a lesser extent, the National Basketball Association (NBA). [12] The practice generally resembles that of ice hockey, in that players do not shave until they either win a championship or are eliminated.

American football

Association football

Baseball

Basketball

Tennis

Motorsport

Fan beards

Fans often grow beards as a sign of support while their favorite team is in the playoffs.

Outside of sports

Other playoff hair

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References

  1. ↑ Czarniecki, Bernie (February 3, 1985). "Whiskery Wings not a Total Hit". Detroit Free Press.
  2. ↑ Ryan Kennedy (May 2, 2006). "Wooly Bullies". The Hockey News. Retrieved May 4, 2007.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Doyle Woody (April 28, 2007). "Assessing the Aces playoff beard efforts". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved May 4, 2007.[ dead link ]
  4. ↑ Rich Chere & Bridget Wentworth (April 29, 2007). "Ottawa watches chance slip by". Star Ledger. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
  5. ↑ Chicago Breaking Sports (May 8, 2010). "Assessing the Aces playoff beard efforts". Tribune News Services. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  6. ↑ Malafronte, Chip (November 18, 2012). "NEW HAVEN 200: New Haven's Don Luzzi a CFL Hall of Famer and possible playoff beard pioneer". New Haven Register .
  7. 1 2 Ian Walker, Montreal Gazette (April 13, 2011). "The Playoff Beard Mystique".[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ Podnieks, Andrew. Hockey Superstitions: From Playoff Beards to Crossed Sticks and Lucky Socks, McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2010, ISBN   978-0-7710-7108-9, pp. 8-9.
  9. ↑ "Beard-A-Thon". April 11, 2009. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  10. ↑ "BEARD-A-THON is back: Fans called to grow beard". NHL.com. April 29, 2013.
  11. ↑ Ed Sherman (June 9, 2015). "NBC Sports boss: Shave the hockey playoff beards". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  12. ↑ Trey Kerby (April 19, 2010). "The Los Angeles Lakers are growing playoff beards". Sports.yahoo.com.
  13. ↑ Neveau, James (December 20, 2018). "Mitchell Trubisky, Bears Quarterbacks Growing Out Beards for Stretch Run". NBC Chicago. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  14. ↑ Payne, Marissa (January 27, 2015). "Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch put on for Super Bowl Media Day". The Washington Post . Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  15. ↑ Mike Reiss (January 7, 2015). "Julian Edelman, Tom Brady working overtime to re-establish connection". ESPN . Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  16. ↑ John Branch (January 18, 2006). "Quarterbacks growing wild". New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
  17. ↑ "Ian Appleyard: Doncaster's bearded wonders bringing back golden memor…". September 19, 2012. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012.
  18. ↑ Martin Rogers (November 15, 2007). "Houston's growth potential". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
  19. ↑ "Houston Dynamo Reaches MLS Cup Final". Huffington Post. November 7, 2011.
  20. ↑ Andrea Canales (November 13, 2010). "Galaxy Battle-Tested And Bearded For Playoffs". Goal.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  21. ↑ Billy Baker (October 23, 2013). "Diehard Red Sox supporters bond over their beards". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  22. ↑ Nick O'Malley (October 21, 2013). "Believe it or not, Boston Red Sox closer Koji Uehara used to have a beard - and a 33.75 postseason ERA". MassLive. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  23. ↑ Tony Manfred (October 23, 2013). "Photos Of Red Sox Players Before And After They Had Playoff Beards". Business Insider . Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  24. ↑ unknown. "Playoff Baseball and Beard Tugs". What The Huff. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  25. ↑ Mary Schmitt Boyer (April 24, 2007). "LeBron says ankle won't keep him out". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
  26. ↑ "Beards be gone: Mavs beat Hornets to get back to .500, earn much-needed shave". The Dallas Morning News . Associated Press. April 14, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  27. ↑ Curry Kirkpatrick. "The Beard Has Begun". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  28. ↑ Jerry Bonkowski (October 16, 2014). "The Penske Files: Who's the Penske prankster and taking Chase beards to an extreme". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014.
  29. ↑ "St. Louis Beards". American Public Media. October 28, 2006. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  30. ↑ Olivia Solon (February 4, 2005). "Beginning the finals countdown". Cherwell24. Archived from the original on May 19, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
  31. ↑ van Emden, Maarten (June 14, 2012). "I remember Edsger Dijkstra (1930–2002)". Vanemden.wordpress.com. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  32. ↑ Greg Wyshynski (April 14, 2010). "Patrick Kane rejects playoff beard in favor of 'trashy' mullet". Sports.yahho.com.
  33. ↑ Tim Sassone (April 16, 2010). "Hawks throw some 'Dirt' on Kane's new hairstyle". Dailyherald.com.
  34. ↑ Jean Lefebvre (April 10, 2008). "Flames take Game 1". Archived from the original on January 9, 2016.
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