There are a lot of sports on right now. Sometimes, when you’re not too familiar with a certain sport, you can get lost in the culture of that particular sport. Wai Sallas Explains The Mullet.
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The NBA and NHL Playoffs are going on right now. The MLB season just started. WWE is always on. Down under, the AFL is full steam ahead. In fact, put any three letters together and you might have an acronym for some sort of professional league.
Today however, we are going to focus on the beautiful sport of hockey. Now, we’ve explained hockey before. So this time, we choose to delve deeper into the belly of the beast. When we came out, the mullet is what we were left with.
Now it would be easy to generalize that the mullet as just a short clean cut in the front, and letting it flow in the back.
But as with most Sports Explained columns, there’s oh so much more to it than that.
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Many believe the first mullet dates back to biblical times with The Messiah.
Others contend it goes even further back to the Sphynx.
In any event, the fashion movement didn’t really hit home until the 80s. It was a natural fit for hockey players who wanted to keep the back of their necks warm while playing in frigid temperatures while also keeping their hair short on top to make sure their helmet stayed snug.
Much like buzz cuts in the 50s, Afros in the 60s, shaggy in the 70s, the 80s belonged to the Mullet.
They came in all shapes and sizes. Receding hairlines, blonde and brunette, straight and curly. It did not matter. Legends began to swirl that the greater the contrast between the front and the back, the bigger your prowess on the ice.
You had your defensemen.
Forwards.
Coaches.
Army Brats.
And your Beach Bums.
The epidemic became so widespread it spilled over into the stands.
And then, well….outside of the stands and into everyday life.
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Unfortunately, all fads, one day, come to an end. While many fashion periods die off in a whimper, the hockey mullet inspired the world. Much like hockey fans, the spirit of the mullet simply was too powerful to just dissipate like the last gasps at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Yet much like Icarus flying too close to the sun, the legend of the mullet was derailed by one man who wanted too much. He will go down as one of the greatest goal scorers in the history of the NHL. Yet his legacy will leave a footnote as the GEM of hockey. The Greatest Ever Mullet.
What do you do when you’ve reached that apex?
Do you throw your chips in and walk away? Or do you stay at the table and hope your good fortune continues?
Unfortunately for us, Jaromir Jagr reached a mountain top that no one else could ascend to. When that happens, there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s move on.
People from other sports and pop culture tried to keep the movement going,
But it was all for naught.
Sometimes you’ll see it in passing and smile. Other times your mind will play tricks on you as you wonder if it was just a figment of your imagination, a glimmer of glorious times now passed.
So while The Mullet era is officially over, certain things are immortal.
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Photo Credit: Patrick Fitzgerald/flickr
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