Joey Harvey is a junior majoring in communication. He can be contacted at [email protected].De’Mon Glanton and Jamar Chaney are on the right track.
One of the latest fads in football is possibly one of the coolest, manliest and most suave characteristics a football player can have these days.
No, my favorite current football fad is long, sometimes braided hair that sticks out from under the helmet, sometimes covering the player’s name on the back of his jersey.
With this new fad, even if a player isn’t that good, he can still look good under (and behind) the helmet.
So here are my favorite long-haired peeps of the NFL that I think football players of all levels should look up to, in no particular order:
Mike McKenzie, CB, New Orleans Saints
I remember McKenzie when he played for the Green Bay Packers, when he was one of the first guys whose name you could not read on the back of his jersey due to his hair draping down over it. McKenzie doesn’t have the disadvantage of being tackled by his hair like other players do because he’s on defense. Smart thinking by Mike. The 23 times in his career he’s intercepted the ball, on the other hand, might have been a problem.
Laurence Maroney, RB, New England Patriots
Maroney was once part of an awesome duo of rookie running backs that had awesome hair. That was last year, and his partner was Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville, Fla. Jones-Drew decided to chop it all off, but hot prospect Maroney has decided that for him, cool is the way to be.
Troy Polamalu, DB, Pittsburgh Steelers
When it comes to hair from the back of the helmet, King Polamalu should be bowed to by all other players. Except those, of course, that make my list. Anyway, Polamalu is one of the top defensive players in the league and, much like Samson, gets his power from his hair. Little known fact I know, but remember where you heard it first.
T.J. Houshmandzadah, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Consider this an honorable mention. I have to give Housh props for the lone braid protruding from the back of his helmet, much like a long rat’s tail. Part of me thinks it looks ridiculous, but the wiser part of me says, “Hey, this guy is awesome. Don’t mess with him.” That’s what the braid says to defensive backs, too, and it’s also what it should say to you.
Even if our team isn’t the best in our division, conference or nation, we have serious potential here. We can look awesome.
My props go to De’Mon and Jamar, and hopefully other players will consider idolizing them and view them as role models, much like I have.