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Every now and then athletes and teams create signature things that they do to bond with each other or show camaraderie. Sometimes teams shave their heads, they wear the same shoes, or they have their team celebrations or pre-game rituals. I have never seen a team bond together over facial hair outside of the NHL, but that’s what Joe Flacco has started in Baltimore. On Thanksgiving night Joe Flacco showed up to the game against the San Francisco 49ers sporting a Fu Manchu on his face.
The Ravens are 2-0 since deciding to try something new with his facial hair so why change now? It started out as something fun for Flacco and it has now grown into something bigger. As his Fu Manchu continues to grow, other teammates have caught on. Well, at least one did. Dennis Pitta has joined in growing a Fu Manchu and now Flacco has gotten a charity on board as well. The Ravens and Flacco are hoping confetti drops down as their star quarterback is sporting some of the ugliest facial hair I’ve ever seen.Joe Flacco joined WNST in Baltimore with Glenn and Nes to talk about whether or not the Ravens have now adjusted after the tough offseason, why he has decided to keep his Fu Manchu, and whether or not he is serious about keeping his facial hair until the end of the season either in Indianapolis or when the Ravens get bounced from the playoffs.
Whether or not the Ravens have now adjusted and jelled after a tough offseason:
“I don’t know. The lockout, we didn’t miss too much in the lockout. We missed ten practices or so. The biggest thing is for us we are a young football team so who knows what we would’ve gotten out of those practices but we probably definitely would’ve benefited more than some other teams because we are a young offense and we have some guys who haven’t played with us before where in the past we’ve been a veteran offense. Having those young guys even with the offseason if we had an offseason I think we were going to be a team that was going to improve as the season went on. That’s what usually happens anyway when you have a lot of young guys.”
On why he has decided to keep his Fu Manchu:
“We’re keeping it because I want everybody on the offense to catch on. Me and Dennis Pitta want some people to start wearing them just to be funny, just to have fun. I mean it’s getting late in the year and we wanted to have fun with something and do something that was a little bit off the ordinary and break up the monotony a little bit. Last year I grew a beard and this year I just decided to do this.”
Whether or not he is serious about keeping his Fu Manchu long-term:
“I’m serious about it man it’s just hair. If you can grow it then why not? Like I said it’s all in good fun. It goes to something good and that wasn’t the initial cause of it but any time something good can come out of something with a couple of guys on the team having a little bit of fun I think you gotta take advantage of it. Like I said it’s just a little bit of hair so it’s not too hard for everybody to do. Even if you don’t want to grow a real one you can throw a fake one on there or something like that.”
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