FEAR THE BEARDS

          What does a former WWE Champion and a MLB Outfielder have in-common? Most would say that their only major similarity is that they are professional athletes, but in this case it is much simpler. Great beards. Daniel Bryan of the WWE, the man who gave birth to the phrase "Fear the Beard", challenged Oakland Athletics right fielder Josh Reddick to a Beard-Off until the end of 2013.

          Bryan targeted Reddick via twitter saying that he would not have the audacity to take on the self-proclaimed "King of Beards" in a head-to-head best of the beards competition. He tweeted this on March 5th of this year and later went on saying, "Also, I encourage my followers to mock [Reddick's] beard at every oppertunity, and let him know that I alone am #KingOfBeards". The rules of the competition are simple: at the end of the year, fans will vote for whomever they believe has the nicer beard and the loser has to shave it off completely. Reddick starts off at a great disadvantage since Bryan has had an eight month head start and has far more twitter followers than Reddick, outnumbering him by over 500,000 followers. On the other hand, Reddick's beard is seemingly growing a lot faster, so he still has a chance of victory unless the voting is baised on the concept of who has more fans.

          Reddick responded in a playful yet mocking way when he accepted the challenge tweeting, "Bring it. YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!" using Bryan's signature catch-phrase. Reddick is a huge fan of WWE and has personally met many superstars, yet this is his first encounter with Daniel and greatly appreciates the friendly competition.  He is also looking forward to establishing a lasting relationship with the WWE and who knows what could happen from there! It is not likely that Reddick will be giving up a solid career in baseball to pursue a career in professional wrestling, but I believe that it is possible for him to be a guest appearance towards the end of the beard-off. So, the A's should not worry about losing their star right-fielder for the upcoming season, but should be prepared for the consequences of the end of the beard-off: the death of a beard.

          Whether Bryan or Reddick wins, one legendary beard will meet its end and the other will be crowned the King of Beards!

                                                                    Two great athletes........

                                                                              Two amazing beards.............

                                                                                     One Winner................

                                                                                             YOU Decide!

                                                              BEARD-OFF 2013!!