wildstangs
02-11-2003, 10:40 PM
This story was in todays Abilene Reporter, and I just had to post it since my Mustangs killed that winning streak! :)
MERKEL — Justin Foss figured it was time for a change earlier this year.
So the Merkel High School forward did what seemed natural, but looked totally unnatural — he dyed his hair blonde.
A few weeks and a few dye jobs later, the Badgers look more like the blonde bombers, not to mention one of the best Class 3A boys basketball teams in the state.
Every member of Merkel’s team dyed his hair blonde after Foss set the trend during the Lamesa Tournament Dec. 26-28. The Badgers have not lost since, extending a winning streak that stood at two games before the dye jobs to 17 heading into their regular-season finale with rival Sweetwater (15-11, 7-2) tonight.
The run has pushed Merkel (28-2, 9-0) to No. 8 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 3A poll. The Badgers have already wrapped up a berth in the playoffs.
"I didn’t play well in the first game of the tournament and wanted to make a change," Foss said. "The next game I scored 18 points."
Foss asked Merkel coach Jeff Faubion if he would mind if he dyed his hair before heading out to a store in Lamesa to purchase a box of hair color. Faubion consented as long as the dye-job was blonde and not purple or pink like one might see at a punk rock concert.
What Faubion didn’t know was the rest of the team’s members would come back the next night to ask if they, too, could get a Foss-like hairdo.
"When the team came and asked me if they could dye their hair I told them it would be OK if they called their parents to make sure that it would be OK with them," Faubion said. "It was all right with me as long as they all wanted to do it. I didn’t want to have anyone bullied into it."
The change has helped the Badgers bond, but has also produced some awkward moments.
When Merkel came out for its warm-up drill before playing Denver City last week, the sound system blared The Real Slim Shady, a song by another blond, rap artist Eminem.
"Everywhere we go fans rag on us," Merkel guard Seth Gohlke said. "After the game, they don’t usually say anything."
Even though they have had their new hairdos for a few weeks, the Badgers and their parents are still adapting to the new look.
"My mom was embarrassed at first because she thought we looked dumb," Merkel center Cole Riggan said. "I still wear a hat everywhere except for games."
Faubion said the taunting Merkel’s players have endured as a result of their new hair color has made them pull together for what promises to be a rugged road in the playoffs. The Badgers are in the same region as Everman, Canyon and a host of other west Texas powers.
Everman is ranked No. 1 in TABC’s Class 3A poll, while Canyon is ranked sixth.
"Time will tell, but this team has all the parts it takes to do well in the playoffs," Fabion said. "We have shooters, ball-handlers and size."
That’s not all Merkel has, thanks to its uniform hairstyle.
"When they dyed their hair," Fabion said, "it gave them an identity as a team."
MERKEL — Justin Foss figured it was time for a change earlier this year.
So the Merkel High School forward did what seemed natural, but looked totally unnatural — he dyed his hair blonde.
A few weeks and a few dye jobs later, the Badgers look more like the blonde bombers, not to mention one of the best Class 3A boys basketball teams in the state.
Every member of Merkel’s team dyed his hair blonde after Foss set the trend during the Lamesa Tournament Dec. 26-28. The Badgers have not lost since, extending a winning streak that stood at two games before the dye jobs to 17 heading into their regular-season finale with rival Sweetwater (15-11, 7-2) tonight.
The run has pushed Merkel (28-2, 9-0) to No. 8 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 3A poll. The Badgers have already wrapped up a berth in the playoffs.
"I didn’t play well in the first game of the tournament and wanted to make a change," Foss said. "The next game I scored 18 points."
Foss asked Merkel coach Jeff Faubion if he would mind if he dyed his hair before heading out to a store in Lamesa to purchase a box of hair color. Faubion consented as long as the dye-job was blonde and not purple or pink like one might see at a punk rock concert.
What Faubion didn’t know was the rest of the team’s members would come back the next night to ask if they, too, could get a Foss-like hairdo.
"When the team came and asked me if they could dye their hair I told them it would be OK if they called their parents to make sure that it would be OK with them," Faubion said. "It was all right with me as long as they all wanted to do it. I didn’t want to have anyone bullied into it."
The change has helped the Badgers bond, but has also produced some awkward moments.
When Merkel came out for its warm-up drill before playing Denver City last week, the sound system blared The Real Slim Shady, a song by another blond, rap artist Eminem.
"Everywhere we go fans rag on us," Merkel guard Seth Gohlke said. "After the game, they don’t usually say anything."
Even though they have had their new hairdos for a few weeks, the Badgers and their parents are still adapting to the new look.
"My mom was embarrassed at first because she thought we looked dumb," Merkel center Cole Riggan said. "I still wear a hat everywhere except for games."
Faubion said the taunting Merkel’s players have endured as a result of their new hair color has made them pull together for what promises to be a rugged road in the playoffs. The Badgers are in the same region as Everman, Canyon and a host of other west Texas powers.
Everman is ranked No. 1 in TABC’s Class 3A poll, while Canyon is ranked sixth.
"Time will tell, but this team has all the parts it takes to do well in the playoffs," Fabion said. "We have shooters, ball-handlers and size."
That’s not all Merkel has, thanks to its uniform hairstyle.
"When they dyed their hair," Fabion said, "it gave them an identity as a team."