Washington Nationals super fan sports wild “W” beard in support of his hometown team

WASHINGTON - A Washington Nationals super fan has been sporting a wild “W” beard to support his hometown team for around three years, and this year he hopes it will inspire the team to win its first-ever World Series title. 

Eric Brooks is from Rockville, Maryland and now lives in Boise, Idaho, but he’s fervently still supporting his home team, the Washington Nationals, by dressing up his long beard and making it into a white “W.” 

Since the World Series this year, he said he has been dressing his beard up mainly at home “just for fun.” 

Although the last Nationals game he went to was in July, when he visited his parents in Washington, D.C., he hopes to showcase the “W” beard for the first time in public in Boise this weekend to cheer his team on to #FinishTheFight.

Brooks has been competing in beard competitions for eight years. 

“I compete in competitions around the U.S. for facial hair... so I figured, since I have it, why don’t I flaunt it or use it in some sort of positive way,” he said. 

He debuted the look on July 23, 2014 at a Nationals game against the Colorado Rockies, when he was living in Denver at the time. 

“That date was the first time I tried it out and wore it to a game,” he said. “But I'm going to style it up again soon to support the team this year.” 

Brooks said the “W” beard takes around one to three hours to complete, a process in which he spray paints the “W” white to make it match the team’s “W.” 

“It’s all for fandom,” he said. “Just to get a smile on people’s faces.” 

The sports lover said he has also dressed up his beard for Washington’s NFL Redskins and NHL Capitals games. 

This story was reported from Los Angeles.