The growing of playoff beards is a show of solidarity among men that is rarely equaled. The baby-faced stars on the playing surface become leveled with the bears rumbling on the practice squad, bonding the capable with the incapable. They are equals, giving their bodies up to the cause, as well as their faces. Where else can we see that? Literally see it. Mayors riding with the plebeians? No. Bosses pretending to be assembly-line everymen on reality TV shows? No. No, those are not the same. Mayors, bosses — they have different destinations than their fellows. You see, a playoff beard is a rare, and therefore precious, thing. Both the journey and the destination of a playoff beard are the same for all of those who partake: It must be grown; it must be shaved. It unites.

And thus it comes as no surprise that beards have changed the Mississippi State University baseball team, who have made it to the finals of this year's college world series, which begin tomorrow.

The pioneer was a sophomore pitcher named Trevor Fitts. The team's coach, John Cohen, had a long-standing ban on facial hair. If they're clean-shaven, the logic followed, they'll be disciplined — stoics on the diamond. But Fitts saw injustice. He made a PowerPoint for Cohen before Christmas, to tell him of the value of beards. It detailed the temperatures in the area through the season, and how beards can keep a man's safe from the sun. (The latter is a topic this blog has covered, along with other matters of beard science such as the debatably positive relationship between hirsuteness and bedding a woman. We cannot confirm at this time if the animal magnetism of beards was included in the slideshow.)

And apparently, the slideshow presentation gave the ball coach an epiphany. From the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal:

"And I started thinking about it, and I started thinking, is this for me?" Cohen said. "Is having our players clean-shaven, is that for me, or is that for our players? … "I started thinking about the facial hair. I started thinking about allowing them to have fun, have a good time on the bench, have a good time in our locker room. I suddenly realized, that's important, too."

When the team returned from Christmas break, Cohen announced his change of heart, but that also there was a new code in place: The young men could keep their beards, that is, until they lose; then, the beards must go.

Though not all members have taken part, the new rule changed the culture of the team. "It shows how loose the coaches are on us," second baseman Brett Pirtle told the Daily Journal. "We're really mature. We know what we're doing, that's why they're so loose on us, because they let us just go out there and play, not worry about anything." And that trust has led them to a 48-18 season, a number 14 national ranking, and a berth in the College World Series — their first in five years.

On Saturday, they face Oregon State University, the fourth-ranked team in the country, hailing from a notoriously bearded region — though a quick look through OSU's team site reveals no bearded unity, just a 50-11 overall record and a lot of hugging. The stage is set.

Nate Hopper Associate editor Nate Hopper is an associate editor for Esquire magazine.

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