Bearded rockers cheer scruffy Red Sox
BOSTON — The bearded rockers from ZZ Top are rooting on the hirsute Red Sox in the World Series.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Gibbons tells The Associated Press the group likes what it sees in the Boston beards.
Gibbons says ZZ Top is “right in step” with the Red Sox style, which includes a bunch of scraggly beards. He sent an email to the AP on Wednesday, a few hours before Boston hosted the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the World Series.
“Beards, balls and bats have long been a presence on the diamond, going back to the very beginnings of baseball,” he wrote. “We’re right in step with the phenomenon of the cultivation of chin whiskers which has boosted our Boston buddies to do as well as they have.”
“It’s really no surprise as we’ve long been within the curve as far as our RBI (Rock Beard Index) goes!” he wrote.
Vocalist and bassist Dusty Hill says the Red Sox are “looking good.” Gibbons and Hill sport long beards that always seem to draw attention.
The longtime group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the same year the Red Sox ended their 86-year championship drought. One of the women on the group’s videos “Legs” and “Sharp Dressed Man” was married to former major league pitcher Matt Keough.
“You know, there’s a lot of talk about the Boston Red Sox and all the beards coming there,” Hill said in a video sent to the AP. “Personally speaking, the style of the beard I think is perfect for baseball. Too much longer, it’s going to get in your way. Too much shorter, I don’t know — it’s not really a real beard.”
“So I think they’re right on the money. Looking good,” he said, stroking his beard.
The third member of the group doesn’t have a beard. He’s the drummer whose name is, actually, Frank Beard.