fear the beard

Beards Win Championships

Whether in basketball, baseball, football or bearding... beards win championships. It has been a proven correlation by the great analysts of our time (e.g. Boomer, Madden, Olsen, etc.). The latest case to stare us in the face, is last night's sweep of the Detroit Tigers at the World Series by the San Francisco Giants, who now have 2 world championships in 3 years...

Even as a devout Red Sox fan, I can recognize greatness on the field... note the Yankees are clean-cut devils, and where are they? My beloved band of idiots was as strong as any team in the majors, until they shipped off their bearded brethren to other teams... shameful management, degrading unsportsmanlike conduct. 

Is anyone surprised that a team with such amazing beard game and devotion to hirsute is at the top of their sport? For all these reasons, and more (including the fact that the fairer half of Build-a-Beard founders is based in SF), we salute the Giants on their championship, we don't fear but profoundly respect the beard.

 Photo CreditL Getty Images/The Atlantic

Fear the Beard (Even If It Makes You Cringe)

As the co-founder of BaB, it doesn't pain me to report on Brian Wilson's jet black beard that has earned him the coveted "Fear the Beard," but as a die-hard Phillies fan - as someone who attended college in the City of Brotherly Love - well, it borderline makes me nausea to report on this as we all know what happened in Game 6 of the NL championship series.

But I'll put that aside and focus on what is really important here - Wilson's Beard.  But, as our loyal readers know, we reported back in January that Jacob Pullen of Kansas State had fans sporting Fear the Beard t-shits in support of his Abe-Lincoln-esque facial hair styling.  

But enough about the slogan, Brian Wilson is 28 years old and became the Giants full-time closer three seasons ago (note: he rocked a clean-shaven face with short brown hair at this time).  According to SI.com, "In 2008 he recorded 41 saves and was named to the All-Star team. As his dominance increased, his appearance has changed. First came the tattoos. Then the Mohawk, which started changing colors. Then the bright orange cleats that he adapted to baseball rules with a black Sharpie.  And finally this year -- another All-Star season, when he led majors in saves with 48 -- came the beard, which took on a black-Sharpie look of its own. Wilson, however, shrugs off questions about how his beard is so amazingly black."

I am not going to openly cheer for San Fran in The World Series, but I hope the best bearded team wins (with the scales tipping in that city's favor).  Of course, in this gal's biased opinion, Jayson Werth's beard = completely more bad ass than Wilson's (and boasts more Twitter followers too... isn't San Fran known for tech savviness? Hmmm. Well, let's not split hairs about it).   

Watch out Nike - It's Time To Fear The Beard

Jacob Pullen - Build-A-Beard is watching you...  

Kansas State basketball's winning streak (14-2) can be attributed to the scruff of number '0' - Jacob Pullen. Since the fall, this all-star junior guard has been growing his beard - openly stating he trims it along the way - and it's caught the attention of competitors and fans alike.

In years past, a player's success could have easily been attributed to the footwear (quite impressively, Pullen averages 19.8 points a game to pace the No. 13/12 Wildcats to their highest ranking in more than 30 years), but now is the year of the beard.  And not just any beard - Pullen bravely (and proudly) sports the Abe Lincoln-type facial creativity prompting fans to grow their own.  In fact, most Kansas State fans are now beardos!  

It has also been reported that the facial-hair challenged opt for Abe costume beards to show support during games while hundreds hold signs with beard cut-outs to frame their face.  

In a recent interview, Jacob stated:

"Before games I'll walk out there to shoot around and the first 10 fans in the front row will have the 'Fear the Beard' shirts on — that just relaxes me a lot, allows me to loosen up when I see that kind of fan support."

Rock on, Jacob!  We will be sure to follow you more closely as the season progresses, but we're huge fans of your follicles.