My quest began with a simple question: Why do I like beards? I’ve always liked a bearded bloke, but why? From a young age, I’ve appreciated the beard. I have fond memories of my father writing in the basement and toying with his face fur. I would watch gleefully, feeling somehow reassured that with a stroke of a beard, all would be well. When the time would come for his beard to go, I would beg him not to shave. To this day, I still throw a fit when he lifts a razor. 

Inspired to solve the mystery of the beard, I took my research to the streets. Surely with the burgeoning popularity of the Lumbersexual and the Dandy Wildman, I could find a man on WKU’s campus who would explain to me the inner workings of the majestic gift which is facial hair. 

I walked into DSU and muttered a silent prayer to the gods of Vikings and furry lumberjacks alike. Scanning the food court, I crossed my fingers and hoped this could be the watering hole for the bearded Adonis of my dreams.  Suddenly, I clapped eyes on a curtain of bristles worthy of Honest Abe, and Forrest Lamp answered my bearded pleas, bringing with him his bewhiskered companion, Nolan Dowling. 

Both are members of the WKU football team as well as an elite group of bearded brethren, and they were kind enough to let me pick their brains. Dowling even allowing me to trim a stray hair from his beard, an experience akin to Christmas morning. Dowling and Lamp are seasoned pros in the beard-growing game: they’ve sported whiskers since their high school years. The men are rarely smooth faced; they prefer the mature, masculine appearance facial hair provides. 

While many wear whiskers for fashion, these gents focus more on the utilitarian nature of the beard and the array of benefits it can provide such as allowing for warmth in the upcoming colder months (nature’s blanket, folks). Beards also have the ability to block allergens and even prevent skin cancer and infections one could possibly get from shaving.

Most importantly for Dowling and Lamp, all the extra time they get from not shaving allows them to focus their energies on what really matters: winning games. They even have beard superstitions, refusing to cut off their manly mane until a game is lost. Here’s hoping they have beards that rival Gandalf’s by the end of the season.

My excursion in this bearded domain has been enlightening if not a confirmation that I am a die-hard lover of beards. So put the razor down, boys, and in the wise words of Mr. Lamp, “Grow a beard. It’s worth it.”