Oh that sweet, sweet, hair...

He looks great, right? Like a real NFL QB. As my lovely fiance pointed out, he could be straight out of Friday Night Lights (and let's be honest, the Jags are definitely the East Dillon Lions of the NFL. All the way from the big cat mascot to their status of neglected runt of the NFL). I was pretty eager after last season for Gabbert to cut his hair. Despite his claims to the contrary (get to that in a moment), I thought a new, fresher look would be confidence inspiring. I have no idea how his teammates responded but I was pretty much giddy as I forced my friends to check out the new Gabba-Gabba cut.

Now, I don't expect Blaine to come right out and say he's cutting his hair cause people called him wimpy and having beautiful, golden locks only reinforces the perception he lacks toughness (For the record, in my opinion, hair length not correlated to toughness. See Clay Matthews). It wouldn't be smart to be so plain in your reasoning. That said, this quote could've used just a bit of work (via the times-union):

“I’ve had long hair for two years now; it’s comfortable...It’s just freshening up a little bit. Look a little cleaner, look well-kept. That’s about it. I’m the same Blaine. … You are who you are regardless if you have a full beard, which I can’t grow, or you have long hair."

It starts off so strong. Confident. Self-assured. And then...just an acknowledgement that you can't grow a beard, a universal sign of manliness and testosterone. Sigh. So close, Blaine, so close.