More than anything, the World Cup is a showcase for crazy hair. Players from across the globe break out the new dos for the sporting world’s biggest event. Whether it’s Ronaldo in 2002, Beckham at any of the last three tournaments, or the entire Romanian team in 1998, it always makes for interesting viewing.
The 2002 World Cup was a particularly loaded event in the hair department, and Clint Mathis came prepared with a mohawk. It seemed to come out of nowhere, as we’d never seen any evidence that he was adventurous in the hair department. I know it’s not a novel haircut, and there were a lot of mohicans and faux-hicans at the tournament, but Mathis’ hair holds a special place in my heart. Maybe it’s just a reminder of the USA’s performance that year, or Mathis’ excellent goal against South Korea. Maybe it’s a symbol of that magical year when Mathis was the best player in the country, seemingly scoring at will. Doesn’t matter. Great haircut. Great performance. Great tournament. Let’s hope for something similar this summer.
[...] on the heads of some of the game’s biggest stars, in a variety of colors, and even on one of our very own. Then-greatest-striker-ever Ronaldo even showed up with the most inexplicable do of the modern [...]