There's something different about Chivas USA this week. It's something small, but it's definitely noticeable. The casual observer might not see it right away, but a closer look reveals the truth:
Every member of the Red-and-White has a beard.
"They call it the 'playoff beard,'" said Jonathan Bornstein. "It shows commitment to the team and to the common goal, and it's something that a lot of people here are taking a lot of pride in."
While there's no official history of the playoff beard, most sports enthusiasts agree that the tradition began in the 1980s with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. Players from the team agreed to stop shaving the day the playoffs began and wouldn't use a razor again until they had either won the Stanley Cup or were eliminated from the postseason.
Over the next 20 years, the growing of playoff facial hair spread to a number of other sports. This year, Chivas USA will introduce it to MLS in what might be the first officially documented case of playoff beards in U.S. soccer.
"We're trying to create some unity and a common purpose," said Chivas USA captain Jesse Marsch. "Hopefully this can be a good luck charm for us and get us to the final."
Marsch admits that Chivas USA's lucky facial hair is not his first experience with superstition in MLS.
"One year when I was with Chicago," he said, "we'd use the same bus driver for every trip to Los Angeles because we felt like he was good luck."
Marsch's own playoff beard is full, but a bit patchy in places. Others on the Chivas USA roster already look like grizzled mountaineers.
"Mine is the least impressive," said Marsch. "Carey Talley and Kevin Harmse can grow a beard by 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Some of the younger guys though, like Sueño [Jorge Flores], Gerson [Mayén], and even Sacha [Kljestan] -- their beards are pretty pathetic."
Bornstein had never even grown a beard before, but is finding the experience rewarding.
"I actually like it," said Bornstein. "You wake up and you don't have to do anything. You just shower and get on your way. Everyone says it itches all the time, but mine doesn't itch."
At the other end of the spectrum is Paulo Nagamura, who has already had a beard for most of the 2009 season.
"It was easier for me," he admitted. "I don't shave very often anyway. It's nice to see all the guys with big beards. It shows that the group is committed. Nobody is worried about looking pretty for the TV cameras on Sunday."
The playoff beards at Chivas USA aren't just confined to the players. The coaches, technical staff, and even some of the front office have grown out their facial hair as well.
"I don't look very good with a beard, but the team has made a pact to not shave until the playoffs are over," said Chivas USA equipment manager Raul Guerrero. "The players, the technical staff and the office staff are all working together toward this goal."
"My family hates it," he added with a chuckle. "They think I look horrible."
Appearances aside, the members of Chivas USA, both on the pitch and off it, are proud to be united in their goal of winning the 2009 MLS Cup. And if they all look horrible with their new facial hair, at least they all look horrible together.
"One of the best qualities of the team is that it's a bunch of good guys who really like playing with each other and really believe in each other," said Marsch. "It's a like a family in that sense. And now, we're an ugly family with bad beards."
Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
