When you tell people, you get one of two reactions. Some people don’t seem that surprised because they, or their sister, or father, or aunty, or a friend had cancer and they’re ok now, or still suffer or they died. It seems as if every other person you talk to has been affected in some serious way by cancer. The other reaction you get, from the people unaffected, is a shocked response. Shocked because I look healthy, you’d never guess, I’m so young, etc. I never like leaving people with an awkward feeling and I really am one of the lucky ones.

Having chemo and radiotherapy, sitting in the oncologist waiting room, waiting for a CT scan, you met and talk to people in the same boat. When I see how they have suffered and how awful their consequences, it makes me feel like a tourist. Sometimes I tell someone I had cancer and they are very sympathetic. Cancer left me almost unscarred, so feel a little awkward with unwarranted sympathy.

I normally finish off with “well, look at the bright side.” I’m fitter and stronger now than I was at 21 and I take great care of my health. I’m scanned, prodded and poked every year too. Sometimes I might get a lump, or some symptom that’s perfectly normal and it brings every nightmare scenario I ever thought of back to life. But I enjoy my life with an excited childlike enthusiasm. I cherish the good and the bad because it is what keeps life from being boring.

I am alive.

Ian

11 days until Movember! Who wants to join the beard.ie team?

All team members will get access to post updates on beard.ie. Its a great way to support men’s health and raise funds for some amazing charity’s !

The team consists of 4 people so far:

• Ian Quigley
• Fergal Byrne
• Leslie Gilmour
• Myself

Pop over and register to join our team! Then pop back here and drop me an email jason @ jasonroe.me

You can also make a donation over here.

Superstition is nothing new in the world of sport. There are countless examples of superstitious routines in sport. Michael Jordan wore his North Carolina (University) shorts under his Chicago Bulls shorts at all times. Turk Wendell a former Cubs and Mets reliever use to brush his teeth and chew licorice between every inning. Former Red Sox and Yankees’ player Wade Boggs was often referred to as the “Chicken Man” because he ate chicken habitually before every game and would also start wind sprints exactly 16 minutes before each game.

Dr. Richard Lustberg, Ph.D. explains that the superstition creates a confidence inside the player or coach: “Athletes begin to believe, and want to believe, that their particular routine is enhancing their performance” It is this “want to beleive” that has led to the latest facial hair related phenomenon – The Playoff Beard.

In truth, it’s unfair to call this a recent development. The forefather of the movement was tennis legend Bjorn Borg. Each year, he would let his beard grow prior to Wimbledon. It became a routine, so much so that Sports Illustrated ran with the story – “The Beard has begun” Borg didn’t lose a single match for five years – the power of the beard was no longer a secret. In the modern era, both James Blake and Andy Roddick refused to shave until they were eliminated from Grand Slam events.

The Playoff Beard is my no means an exclusively tennis tradition. In the 1980’s the Nation Hockey League (NHL) tradition of players not shaving their beards began. Today, the tradition has spread to hockey leagues across the globe and from the professional ranks right down to high school teams.

Closer to home, there have been several examples of Playoff Beards in Irish sport. However, the winners have to be the Tyrone football team. The lads stopped shaving for the duration of the 2008 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship campaign. It worked – they went on to lift the Sam Maguire Cup.

Post by Stephen O’Leary – Online Media Analyst

revolutioncycle.ie – Fearghal

“There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless boys and women and I am neither one.” -Greek saying

Beard’s are synonymous with adventure. Nothing says hard and rugged like a bristled chin. A few day’s growth says you’ve left the city, and its bourgeois concerns about daily shaving and other such civilised conventions behind. That you’re out doing manly things; triumphing over nature and beast like you’ve evolved to do.

Shackleton knew it, Darwin knew it, and Genghis Khan knew it (though his mongol gene’s didn’t make for the most impressive bush). Facial topiary is essential kit for a long arduous journey. The adventurers penchant for a full face is partly due to the undeniable heroic aesthetic of strained face covered in a tangled hedge – the iconic Hero Picture; pursed lips, worn weathered features eyes squinted against the wind/snow/dust just wouldn’t have the same effect with a clean cut naked chin.

Beards are also surprisingly practical when out in the wilds. Below, are six reasons that any adventure loving red blooded male shouldn’t leave home without that essential piece of kit-the venerable beard;

1.Thrifty:

It saves money on suncream. Crossing the deserts of Western China we found our beards

invaluable for keeping the sun off our faces. Just don’t forget you still need to cover your nose or you’ll look like a baboon’s arse with your big red hooter peeping out of a tangled mass of hair.

2.Repellent:

After a few months’ growth you’ll start to look like a vagrant, add this to a few days riding in the same sweaty clothes and you quickly become someone that people cross the streets to avoid.

This is a very god look in places like Bolivia or Ecuador where security levels are not great.

3.By Allah’s Beard:

In Islamic states like Iran, freshly shorn chin is tantamount to blashphemy, so a beard is essential kit.

4.Prop:

A nice long beard is great for bidding time when negotiating your way out of tough situations,

stroking your three inch goatee philosophically can be a handy way of covering up the fact that

you are scared shitless of the toothless agitated guy with the hand gun tucked into his belt..

5.Image:

As mentioned before, nothing says heroic endeavour than a picture of a bearded wethered face

This is even better if the beard is partially or fully frozen.

6. Wind Vein :
your beard grows past two or three inches lenght you can feel a tug on it in a cross wind, this can be an invaluable meteorological tool helping you predict advancing storms with accuracy

Whether you’ve a Craig David or a Ronnie Drew don’t leave home without that essential piece of kit- the beard.

This site was the brain child of Jason Roe and DJ Rick O’Shea.

Check out Movermber for details on growing a Mo for a good cause!