CLEVELAND — It’s a courageous hairstyle known by many names:
The Mississippi Mudflap. The Kentucky Waterfall. The Canadian Passport. The Beaver Paddle. The Achy-Breaky-Big-Mistakey. The Tennessee Tophat.
But it’s best known by its technical name: The Mullet. A hairstyle in which the hair is cut shorter at the front and sides, but is longer at the back.
But not all mullets are created equal.
For example, the mullet I attempted pre-junior high left much to be desired.
The same can be said for my friend and co-worker, Jay Crawford, seen here in his freshman college ID picture.
In both cases, one can applaud the effort but neither of our North Carolina Neck Warmers is anywhere close to being worthy of consideration for the USA Mullet Championships. An annual competition that seeks out the most impressive mullets in the country.
But I’m happy to report that the Cleveland area DOES have some representation in this year’s tournament, thanks to the talent and artistry of Brandon Mercer.
Brandon has been helping to create mullets and other, less remarkable hairstyles at Ian’s Hometown Barbershop in Mentor for 3.5 years now. His work has now taken on national prominence, as a mullet that he created and helps to maintain has entered the top 25 in this prestigious event.
"I'm not one for hair competitions," he explained. "But I figured if there was ever one I wanted to win, it would be the USA Mullet Championship. I saw some of the guys competing and said, man, I've got a client that would just be perfect for this."
Mercer then introduced me to his muse. Rich Baron has been rocking this look for 2 years now. He says it’s a real conversation starter.
"I think it's a very polarizing haircut," Baron said. "I feel like I either get, 'that's an amazing haircut' or, 'why do you have a mullet?' I did it as a joke and I kind of ran with it, I owned it."
Checking out the Top 25 remaining contenders, there aren’t a lot of weak spots. These are the best of the best and it’s going to be a tough finals.
If you’d like to help bring home the mullet hardware, these guys have a simple request - vote here.
"I'd appreciate if everyone would go out there and vote, represent Cleveland, because I'm trying to represent Cleveland, Ohio," Baron told me.
As our Guardians begin their march towards an MLB Championship, is it too ambitious for us to dream of Cleveland winning two major titles in one year? Only time will tell.
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