Sports at FHS are known to have their own unique traditions, but one stands out as just a hair above the rest. The wrestling team has an interesting and unique tradition of bleaching their own hair. The whole wrestling team goes into junior Cole McAndrews house, and some of the team moms bleach their hair. Despite it being a tradition, the wrestlers have mixed feelings about dying their hair. “I like it because it’s a team thing, but I wish we did something else because this ruins my hair,” said sophomore Brian Bland. Some enjoy this tradition and get a good laugh out of it, while others believe that it is an unfair request. “It’s new to me… I’ve never really bleached my hair before but it’s exciting to see something new with my hair… [however,] I really don’t want my hair to fall out,” said sophomore Zach Marshall.
Hair bleaching is unappealing to some because they may have sensitive hair or they may be allergic to the ingredients in the bleach. They may also have a bad bleaching that results in their hair turning yellow or orange. Parents have been upset about accidents such as these in the past. “My mom doesn’t like when I do it, mainly because my hair starts to fall off and my dad thinks I look foolish,” said Bland. Freshman Sam Ludwig shared that this year’s bleaching will be his last. “I have mixed opinions on it, but it’s alright I guess…I definitely won’t do it again,” said Ludwig.
Many students around the school find this tradition to be a funny, light-hearted and amusing thing to do. It not only brings attention to the wrestling team, which can attract more members, but it shows that they have fun and enjoy doing silly little things like bleaching hair. “I definitely encourage this tradition, and I think they should keep doing it….I think it can be really funny depending on how the hair cut turns out and on who gets the hair cut,” said sophomore Liam Pennell. Along with that, senior Jake Miller said, “I think it’s cool because they all do it at the same time… I don’t think it looks silly, but sometimes it looks a little weird like they could’ve done a better job.”
Even if some wrestlers don’t necessarily enjoy this tradition, most can agree that it makes their team stronger. “We all choose to do it because it makes us more of a team,” said Bland. Also, the color is always only temporary. “I’ll probably get a buzz after this season unfortunately but… at the moment it’s worth it,” said Marshall.
