". . . It's just a reminder that every time I get up and every time that I look in the mirror and every time this thing itches you, it reminds me what's going on right now," Dawkins said during a news conference. Brothers in scruffiness include owner Jeff Lurie, and players Kevin Curtis, Jon Runyan and L.J. Smith.
Nobody really paid attention to the players' days-old stubble until Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings when cameras kept panning on Andy Reid's furry, two-tone chin.
But like style critics' reaction to coach Reid's fuzzy face, Eagles fans' beards aren't always welcome fashion changes, either.
"It's a silly thing. My wife hates it," said Serabian's older brother, Kevin Kaufman, 38, who also is bearding up in solidarity. "I'm a huge Eagles fan. I want to show support for the Birds."
Who knows why men take leave of their grooming senses when they are up against a competitive wall? Perhaps the superstition harks back to the biblical story of Samson, who loses all of his strength after his lover, Delilah, orders a slave to shave his head.
These days a beard can be a man's way of ignoring society's clean-shaven rules. Hockey players routinely grow out their hair when they are in the playoffs.
"There is something about the connection between sports and facial hair that tends to be compelling," said Aaron Perlut, chairman of the St. Louis-based American Mustache Institute.
"Facial hair has always been one of the most consistent forms of self-expression; it can compensate for other deficiencies, and there is a certain toughness that comes with facial hair."
Some say men turn to whiskers after a defeat as a way to change their image. After losing the mayoral race against John Street in 2003, Sam Katz grew out his beard, as did Al Gore after he lost the presidency to George W. Bush.
