With Baseball Season Starting Up Today, It's Important To Ask Why Don't More Coaches In Other Sports Wear The Team Uniform?
Something that has always fascinated me with baseball is the fact that the managers are always decked out in a team uniform. There could very easily be an actual explanation for this, but I feel like main reason why this phenomena exists is because it’s just been that way for so long that nobody would even think it change it now. And also–why would anybody ever want to change it?
I’m of the believe that no man (or woman) is bigger than the team. And nothing epitomizes that more than the head skip of a ball club keeping his suits in the closet and getting dressed in the exact same uniform as the rest of his locker room. Think about NBA and NHL coaches. Those guys are dressed to the nines for every game. Right off the bat, you have a major gap in perceived power between coach and player. Seems kinda fucked up if you think about it. Even in the NFL where coaches are dressed a little more casual than the NBA and NHL, these guys look different than the rest of the team. You want to preach “the team, the team, the team”? Well how about you stop showing off your kick ass wardrobe every Sunday and start dressing like you want to be a part of the squad. It would be like going to war and the general is wearing jeans and a sweater.
All I’m saying is that maybe more players would be able to respect a guy like Gregg Popovich if he would stay on his players’ level and wear a jersey and shorts on the sideline instead of trying to portray this sense of superiority via looking like he just wrapped up teaching a philosophy course. And guys like Ken Hitchcock. Has anybody ever once asked Ken Hitchcock if he actually wants to wear a suit and tie on the bench? Maybe he’d enjoy being able to throw on a hockey jersey instead of having to get himself into a suit every night. Just a thought. All I’m saying is that it’s something to think about. It doesn’t make sense that baseball managers are the only coaches in sports who either have to or get to wear a team uniform during games. I’m not looking for immediate change, I just want to start the conversation.
By the way–we all know the real reason why baseball managers wear the team uniform. It’s because of the way baseball pants make your ass look. Nothing in the world is more flattering than a pair of baseball pants. They’re like PEDs for your caboose. That’s another question I have. Why don’t more people wear baseball pants in public more often? I guess that’s a question for the Failing Upwards crew. But I need answers.