The past is rich with claims of certain objects that bestow power upon individuals, especially in the case of a monarch’s crown. I began to apply this interpretation to sports, in which the crown’s equivalent is undoubtedly the helmet.
What are athletes’ relationship with their helmets, and how does that affect their performance on game day?
Perhaps heightened appreciation or respect for one’s helmet gives athletes the confidence (and protection) to take on their opponents. Since neither Peyton Manning nor Alexander Ovechkin would return my calls, I turned to members of our very own Princeton Varsity Club for answers.
Freshman defender Rob Posniewski of the men’s lacrosse team sports a black and orange Warrior T-2 helmet on the field, the same model issued to every Princeton player. While his personal customizations are minimal, Posniewski is reluctant to use another player’s helmet and claims that “[he] just wouldn’t feel comfortable.”
Posniewski’s teammate, freshman midfielder Brian Reilly, expressed a slightly different sentiment.
“I’d use someone else’s helmet,” he said. “It would feel a little weird, but I would do it.”
While the two teammates conveyed different levels of respect for their personal helmets, they did agree on the subject of maintenance: They never wash them.
Freshman defensive back Phil Bhaya of the football team sided with Posniewski. Presented with the same questions as the lacrosse players, Bhaya was slow to answer whether or not he would lend his helmet to a teammate.
“I’d prefer not to, but I would if I had to ... if it would help the team.”
Based on the cleanliness of Bhaya’s helmet, not many would willingly choose to borrow it. He has only washed his helmet once, before a televised game against Penn in the fall.
“It was a lot different in high school,” Bhaya explained. “We would get more stickers and stuff, and we would have the same helmet for more than one year, so we got more attached to it.”
Freshman Stephen Moch, a fencer for the Tigers, was ecstatic about his protective headgear. His Leon Paul X-change saber mask is state of the art, with bulletproof glass and a scratch guard.
Unlike the previous three athletes, Moch cleans his helmet regularly and “replace[s] the scratch guard every couple of months.” While he has no reservations about sharing his mask with teammates, he refuses to use any mask besides his own.
“It would feel wrong. I’m so used to [my mask]. It’s perfect.”
Moch also stated that his mask is gender neutral, but “[he] couldn’t imagine it being a girl. That would just be weird.”
These responses are by no means conclusive evidence for or against the helmet debate.
Some Princeton athletes love their helmets and some hate them, yet they all perform. Perhaps those who respect their helmets more than the average athlete experience a placebo effect.
Maybe those who worry less about their helmet and instead pay closer to attention to the condition of their cleats experience a similar effect.
Maybe if Princeton allowed its athletes to keep their helmets for all four years, players would slowly develop a sentimental attachment like that of Bhaya’s in high school.
Regardless, there is nothing a helmet can do to substitute for hard work and a commitment to constant improvement.
But when I do find that shortcut to athletic success, you will see me wearing a PVC T-shirt around campus. Every single day.
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