Hockey hair: scholarship in sports through an unofficial uniform
Like all official sports teams, professional hockey players wear a uniform when playing sanctioned games. This includes t-shirts, regulation skates, headgear, and hockey sticks. However, hockey players, more than any other group of athletes, seem to have developed an unofficial uniform for when they’re not on the ice: hockey fur.
Hockey hair for group cohesion
As a group, hockey players are often seen as rebellious and aggressive. While all athletes, to some degree, are also associated with these characteristics, hockey players are particularly infamous for their tendency to fight each other. Hockey games are often as much about player interactions as it is about whether a team wins or loses. Fights are something of a spectacle that, while entertaining for viewers, creates a potentially dangerous view of aggressive behavior between players.
So how does the hairstyle of hockey players fit into this dynamic?
To begin with, hockey hair is a loose, swept-back style in which the hair flows back from the forehead. The fact that it is a medium/long hairstyle is significant in itself, as longer lengths on men are often associated with rebellious figures. However, the prevalence of the style among so many team members alters this association in a key way: it provides a common identity for the group.
Group identity through long flowing hair
The result of a group of rebellious, aggressive and similarly coiffed men is a unity that transcends the uniform worn on the ice. The style’s ubiquity on virtually every NHL team marks the style as a reminder that while on opposite sides, members play the same game. This is especially important for players, considering the worrying view of aggressive behavior on the ice by coaches, referees and even spectators.
Role of the unit in aggressive behavior
A 2001 study of the perception of aggression in minor league hockey players and coaches shows an interesting change in how certain behaviors are more tolerated with age. As players progressed to the next age group (Atom, Peewee, Bantam), they saw hostile aggression as less of an issue. The worrying trend suggests a lack of awareness that other players on opposing teams are the same. Rather, it shows a perception of the other as an obstacle to success.
An important characteristic of hockey hair, also known as “Bro Flow”, is that it is long enough to be seen peeking out from under the regulation helmets worn during games. This means that other players can see that under the expected jersey number and surname identifiers, the opposing player under the team is a living, breathing person. This can make a player think before slamming another player into a wall in an overly hostile manner.
In short, the Bro Flow look presents a unique phenomenon among a group of infamously aggressive athletes. The free-spirited expression, often associated with long hairstyles on men, is tempered by group dynamics, resulting in a general unity among the players.