Football fans are a peculiar bunch at times.
Take Monday night, for example.
With just the one football match to occupy their minds (Everton’s trip to Sunderland), the main talking point of most of the first half had absolutely nothing to do with the game itself.
Many of those that had tuned in to see Sky’s coverage of the game at the Stadium of Light seemed more concerned with what Jermaine Defoe had done to his hair during the game’s opening stages.
This was how Defoe had appeared the last time he took to a football field, during Sunderland’s 1-1 draw at Southampton at the end of August…
(He’s the one on the left, by the way)
And this was how he looked for the visit of Ronald Koeman’s men…
No big deal, you might think. After all, we’ve seen far more eccentric hairstyles from footballers down the years, haven’t we?
But Twitter just wouldn’t shut up about it…
Many were impressed at how quickly Defoe’s hair had grown…
https://twitter.com/SeanMckeever2/status/775418375161995264
When did Jermain Defoe suddenly grow hair?
— Ryan Woodward (@RyanIsAWood) September 12, 2016
After squandering a chance to give Sunderland the lead early on, some harshly suggested that he would’ve stood a better chance of converting the opportunity with a ‘normal’ hairdo…
If defoe had normal hair he'd have scored
— Jack (@Jackobrfc999) September 12, 2016
This wasn’t exactly flattering, either…
Jermain Defoe looks like the Borg Queen in Star Trek First Contact with that hair 😜 pic.twitter.com/Lrlde9eSXA
— BRI-SAFC (@safcking) September 12, 2016
On a slightly more positive note for Jermaine, one Evertonian felt it was the best part of a goalless first half…
Defoe's hair is the highlight of this Everton performance so far.
— Neil Halton (@NeilHalton) September 12, 2016
Since arriving from Toronto FC a couple of years ago, Defoe’s goals have been a significant factor in keeping Sunderland in the Premier League. If he finds a similar run of goal-scoring form this season, we doubt Sunderland fans will care too much about how he decides to style his hair.
Read more stuff about footballer hair from SportsJOE