Kick the bucket: it's time to ditch sport's stupidest idea
Sport is full of amazing traditions, and this cultural cringe is nowhere close to being one of them.
Opinion
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THE Boxing Day Test match is an icon in two hemispheres, but it also harbours a much darker embarrassment that we are once more face to face with and must be stopped: the KFC bucket hat.
There is no doubt sport has some of the most iconic cultural moments around the world, like Liverpool's Anfield stadium and the singing of You'll Never Walk Alone, or the playing of Sweet Caroline in the middle of the eighth inning at Fenway Park.
In comparison, jamming a greasy cardboard chicken bucket on to your head really doesn't hold a candle.
Yes, it's a movement that is rooted in commercialism, but it's not like that's automatically a recipe for disaster.
The Terrible Towels that have been a beloved staple at Pittsburgh Steelers home games for the past 42years started out as a ploy to drag sponsors in.
No, the real problem is it's undeniable stupidity.
I mean, do you see other sponsors rushing to join with their own ideas?
No. Because would you seriously consider rocking up to the NRL grand final with a pair of Hungry Jack's burger boxes for shoes, or taped-together Subway wrappers for your shirt?
Thick glasses were once described as "Coke bottles" but you'll notice nobody ever took that literally, either.
And the damage from this lunacy is not only to our reputation, but our creativity too.
Where once it took days of effort, planning and craft to create an amazing sign to hopefully score your five seconds of fame on the stadium big screen or the broadcast coverage, now it only requires a willingness to dress like a dunce in front of the nation.
And while it's easy to point the finger of blame at the person who started the whole mess, the real culprit who should be held responsible was the moron who saw the first person wear one and copied it, turning it into a trend.
After all, it was the second person in the expedition who ensured eating ricin didn't become a cultural craze.
So for the sake of our cultural dignity, can we please kick the bucket?
Originally published as Kick the bucket: it's time to ditch sport's stupidest idea
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