Home

John Russell

John Russell's sports column appears Sundays in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 871-4209 or e-mail jrussell@SteamboatToday.com.

If you wanted to hang out with the cool crowd at Arapahoe High School back in the mid-1980s, there were a few basic things that you just had to have.

A pair of faded, button-fly Levi 501 jeans, a freshly pressed oxford shirt - preferably with a Guess label - and some well-worn Top-Siders. Back then, if you owned those items, you were on your way to fitting in, or at least that's what many of us thought.

But that was then, and this is now.

I'm not surprised that most teenagers and twenty-somethings in today's world can't understand the reasoning behind Levis shrink-to-fit jeans. What teenage boy, at least those who want to be in the "in crowd," would be caught in jeans that actually fit around his waist?

As a product of the 1980s, it's hard for me to understand today's fashion trends. Oversized jeans, tattoos and piercings are the norm for kids these days. When I see these styles, I'm glad I'm no longer 18, and even happier that I'm not the parent of a teenager. Unfortunately, I know that day is coming.

But despite the things I don't understand about this generation, I have to admit that they are responsible, at least in part, for one of the greatest fashion trends of the past decade. If you ski, you probably know what I'm talking about. It's as plain as the smile on your face or the helmet on your head.

Somehow this generation - the same group that decided to put diamonds in their noses and barbells through their eyebrows - has made wearing a helmet not only fashionable, but cool.

All you have to do is take a ride on the gondola to see the impact helmets have had on ski fashion these days. Snowboarders, free riders and Sunday cruisers all are buying into the latest fashion trend.

It's an impressive statement for the generation that pays hundreds of dollars for jeans many of us would throw in the trash. I will never pay for a pair of worn-out jeans, and I can guarantee I will never pay anyone to pierce my nose, tongue or any other part of my body. But I gave into the helmet fad a couple of years ago. To be honest, I wasn't worried about being cool, but I was concerned about setting a good example for my children.

The truth is, fashions come and go, and there's a good chance we will be making fun of today's fashions tomorrow. But the one thing that's certain is there is nothing cool about a head injury, and I'm proud of any generation that makes being safe something cool.