Fear The Fro

Carlos Gomez of the Minnesota Twins has been under a microscope the entire time he's been in Minnesota. The 23 year old outfielder was the key component in the Johan Santana trade which so far has produced absolutely nothing for the Twins and given the Mets a bona fide #1 pitcher. Gomez was batting around the .220 mark going into the all-star break and didn't look like he had a clue as to what was going on at the plate. Since then, the Twins have emphasized more speed in their lineup and that's lead to more at bats for Gomez. Gomez has responded quite admirably since them and is starting to raise his average around the .250 mark. What gives? Did Gomez finally realize he can't try and hit every pitch 500 feet? Has the lightbulb finally come on? Nope. Gomez is red hot because he has been growing a sizeable afro. I can't estimate the actual size, but I can tell you that it's given him some kick ass powers.

The afro has been one of sports interesting hairdos. Of course, the afro was popular in the 1970's when almost everyone in the NBA had one. The fro started making a comeback in the late 1990's and now, it's taken a prominent role in professional sports. Just look at some of the sports moments that the afro has provided.

Summer 1977: Rod Carew flirts with .400 as a Minnesota Twin. Carew continues to hover around this mark until a late season swoon. After all of this, Carew is still able to hit .388, a career high. Minnesota wouldn't see an afro so powerful for a while. It was so powerful, that it took long sideburns to see anyone blow a kiss towards .400. Well, that is until they went into a 2 for 21 slump JOE MAUER.

January 2005: The Minnesota Vikings backpedal their way into the playoffs, dropping their final two games against Green Bay and Washington. In the last game of the season WR Randy Moss walks off the field with two seconds to go. Many "experts" question his commitment to the team. The Vikings are slated to face Green Bay in the first ever meeting between the two division rivals. The entire team comes out of the locker room with giant afros to promote team unity. As WR Kelly Campbell put it, afros stood for "America's Finest Receivers On Sundays". The receiving corps would prove their worth as Moss wound up with two touchdowns on the night and the Vikings would win 31-17. Moss would moon the Green Bay crowd after his second touchdown, a move that would signal a complete overhaul for the Vikings.

Those are just the two I could think of off the top of my head. The afro is probably the biggest rally cry in professional sports right now. You like your Rally Monkey? Please. Fear the fro!