Brian Wilson: How Long Will the Beard Grow for the San Francisco Giants Closer?

The Beard.

We know it's power—power to intimidate and power to inspire.  The Beard was a big part of the 2010 San Francisco Giants and their World Series victory.  It spawned a whole new fashion statement for Giants players and fans alike.

But how long will it grow?

Brian Wilson told the world that he decided to grow out the beard during the regular season in 2010 and not shave it until the Giants were eliminated from contention or from the postseason.

But the Giants weren't eliminated.

Now it's a new season, and it's pretty clear that Wilson was dead serious about what he said last year, because that thing is longer than ever.  Wilson looks like he belongs on the cover of the movie "300," next to Leonidas with the jet-black beard.  In fact, looking at pictures of Wilson pre-beard, I don't even recognize the guy.

Aubrey Huff, another Giant with an eccentric addition to his person—the "rally thong"—shed that after the Giants won it all last year.  But Wilson is following a long line of baseball superstition-sensitivity.

Perhaps the bigger question is, will the Giants closer continue to grow it if they repeat as World Series champions?  Technically, if he's going to stick to his guns, he'd have to keep growing it, and it could become the facial version of Manny Ramirez's dreadlocks.

There really are a lot of questions about the Beard:

At some point, won't it start to get in the way of Wilson's delivery?  Well, I guess if Manny Ramirez could run around the bases with his hair flying around the way it did, Wilson's task looks like a piece of cake.

What brand of hair dye does Wilson use on it?  (Hair dye manufacturers: jackpot—time for a Brian Wilson commercial with your product)

Does Wilson's neck get sore with the beard becoming heavier and heavier?

Well, whatever happens, it'll be fun to watch.  As if we didn't have enough reasons to want the Giants to go all the way and repeat as champions this year, add one more to the list: the continued reign of the Beard.