DC ExtraTime: Crafting the Perfect Beard with Mr. Gentle Giant Ginger

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

For those in Canada, north of the Mason-Dixon Line and in an increasing number of American cities, this is the best time of year to be a hockey fan. Spring means one thing to those who follow the National Hockey League: the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the quest to win the oldest trophy competed for by pros on the continent, one that is considered the hardest to win of any of the four major sports, for the fact that one team will have won sixteen games to hoist Lord Stanley and to have to endure sacrifice, pain and at least a few overtime games to win the championship. And if what happened in the first round with all four division leaders, including the top-ranked Tampa Bay Lightning, all being knocked out, it has proved that the NHL playoffs are better than that of the NBA.

A tradition as sacred as the captain receiving the cup from the league commissioner at the end of the clinching final game, every player getting a day with the cup during the summer and the engraving of all the players' names is something that is synonymous with spring as most anything else. In the early 1980s when they became the first American team to win three or more Stanley Cups in succession, the New York Islanders began a superstitious practice of their players not shaving their beards while competing during the postseason, and only shaving it off if they either get eliminated or win it all. This eventually became known as the "Playoff Beard," which according to its Wikipedia entry, has become a symbol of team unity during the most intense time of the entire season and says playoffs to those who start their day brushing their teeth each morning.

The Playoff Beard has now become a tradition in April, May and June with every NHL team taking part in it, along with minor league affiliates as they battle for CHL's Memorial Cup and AHL's Calder Cup, as well as NCAA teams vying to advance to the Frozen Four, and even to the high school level. It's also expanded into other sports and leagues, with the Seahawks' Russell Wilson, the Steelers' Ben Rothlisberger and the Pats' Julian Edelman boasting beards during their teams' run to the Super Bowl. The Red Sox and the Giants boasted playoff beards during quests in October to their respective World Series titles, while Björn Borg boasted his own playoff beard during his great run at Wimbledon winning five straight titles at the All-England Club... likely the origin of this end-of-season tradition.

It's with this in mind that, back in March, a video emerged on the YouTube channel of a company that, according to its website, specializes in "uniting beardsmen and build a community." When it launched in 2012, BeardBrand grew to include a blog, a site on Tumblr and a YouTube account that has over 1 million subscribers and whose 1000+ videos have been seen almost 180 million times. Its content covers everything related to growing that beard, from grooming them and reviewing care products, to its unique lifestyle and of course dozens of videos that take place inside the barbershop... all with the goal of wanting to reverse any stereotypes about those who've not shaved in a while.

RIVALS II - Who Are These Newbies?

By DC Cueva

After two fantastic opening episodes of The Challenge: Rivals II, and after the strong viewership that tuned to the drama-filled premiere on July 10, as well as the great social media interaction of cast & fans - 83,000+ social interactions related to the show & resulting in my busiest day on twitter since Super Bowl Sunday earlier this year, we are already experiencing a fast start to this exciting season.

For those avid Challenge fans who didn't catch BOTS because, for most, was simply their favorite veteran wasn't on (it's a bit corny if you ask me), or for those only watch The Challenge & don't watch The Real World the same way I do, Rivals II represents your first opportunity to see this new generation in action. These are the same people who I became familiar with in Turkey and on their original RW season (I didn't watch Challenges much before last fall). Of course, these fans will be in the blue of what these rookies have in store for them. And for fans, it'll be easy for them to go for the veterans, but there are some rookies who might hang with the vets in competition in Thailand, enough for them perhaps to win over these fans too.

   The basis of this post is to help you, the avid Challenge fan who knows more about the vets than these rookies, get some insight into these new people: background from their RW bios, what happened with them on their RW season, and with the exception of a handful making their debut in this Challenge, provide a recap of how they did last year when they competed for the first time in Turkey. This will help you understand these people the same way you know the big name veterans and the same way that I do having followed them first in that other show that I love even more.

Lets get it started, beginning with the group that finally made their Challenge debut last year, and now on their second go at it: