For those who have been noticing Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly’s slow transformation into the “Shaggy Dog,” there is a a reason for his long locks.
Apparently the linebacker isn’t perfect. In fact, when it comes to growing a “playoff beard” he failed quite miserably. So instead, he grew out his wavy dark hair to participate with other teammates who grew out their beards during the playoffs.
“I tried and it looked terrible,” Kuechly said per Jonathan Jones of The Charlotte Observer. “They said all right well if you can’t grown your beard you have to grow the hair.”
Confirmed: Luke Kuechly is growing his hair out for the playoffs because his beard was coming in awfully pic.twitter.com/ipcuZK9RaT
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 28, 2016
According to the report, Kuechly told the media that he doesn’t remember the last time he went out and got a haircut. And he was thrilled when somebody finally took notice of his extra abundance of hair.
“Yes! Thank you! Someone finally asked about it.”
Maybe if he and bearded teammate Greg Olsen could just even each other out…
On that note, somebody actually opened a Twitter account named “Greg Olsen’s Beard,” which can be used in place of any Norse god-based exclamations the next week while we all wait for Super Bowl 50.
With the ungroomed look having done wonders for the Panthers’ postseason success, we’re not likely to spot Kuechly or any of the guys anywhere near a barber until after the big game.