The culture of football “drip” truly took off in the early 2000’s. Originally, it began when football began. New helmets, new uniforms, anything and everything new defined drip culture. The emergence of accessories that were both stylish and practical led to drip culture that is now heavily influenced by the NFL, college teams, and social media. Drip can be best defined as a player’s personal style on the field and the amount of style and flair they bring to the game. Many see it as simple accessories, but for some players it is nothing short of a pregame ritual. Many players see drip as the ability to be unique on the field when given gear and uniforms that all match. It makes you stand out. When it comes to the Magnet football team, the players ranges from those who show up truly dripped out on game day to those who can only be described as having negative drip.
One of the most common drip accessories is a nice pair of gloves, which makes sense as they are practical for any position. Essential for anyone on the team, gloves ensure a better grip on the football and keeping a hand on players needing to be blocked. Visors are also popular as they can improve visibility and prevent a face mask mid-play. Arm sleeves and leg sleeves are also very common on the field purely for the style and matching the uniforms. Mouth guards can also help as the numerous designs can add intimidation on the field. One favorite for anyone getting hit a lot is a back plate, meant to give additional protection with the shoulder pads. A towel can be implemented as the cherry on top for any player wanting to go the extra mile for their drip. Eye black is the finishing touch for all players with many enjoying the designs they can use for intimidation. As for specific positions, the linebackers and quarterbacks will typically have wrist sleeves containing plays which helps them mid-game. Undershirts and compression pants are also used by some. Other notable drip options include the one-leg compression pants, scrunchy socks, turf tape, and leg braces.
Ratings
Before the ratings of players are shown, it needs to be established that this is only my opinion. I do not consider myself an expert on drip and any players that were rated were asked if they were okay with being rated and included in this article. This is not a serious article and is only meant to be fun and showcase an enjoyable aspect of sports life. Ratings are based on a 0-10 scale, with 10/10 being drippy and 0/10 being no drip. With that being said, here are the ratings for a few of the players. The gallery below contains pictures of players from recent games.
Starting off with the player considered by the team to have the most drip is Thomas Martin. Thomas sports a matching chrome mouth guard and back plate as well as white leg sleeves, matching Battle turf tape, a pair of white Under Armour gloves and a Gatorade towel worn to keep his hands dry. Paired with eye black, white cleats, and athletic tape wrapped around his arms, Thomas scores a pretty easy 10/10. Can’t get much drippier than that.
Coming after Thomas with a similar score is Beatty Cummings, which makes sense as they have a very similar style. Beatty has almost the same setup as Thomas although he is missing the matching mouth guard, which is why he gets a 9.5/10.
Max Peters scores a 9/10. As a lineman, he is a little more limited in options when compared to others, but matching black Nike arm sleeves, Battle back plate, and black Under Armour cleats along with an Oakley visor give him solid lineman drip.
Campbell Stoklosa is a somewhat unique case. While Quarterbacks have a debatable limit to how much drip they can have on the field, Campbell prefers to keep it simple. Sporting a white Battle towel that he tucks in to the front of his game pants along with a pair of white Nike cleats, Campbell sounds like he wouldn’t have much drip. However, the reason I give him a 6/10 is because of his gloves. A pair of green and white receiver gloves that match our school colors along with his wrist coach for plays gives Campbell more drip than he gives himself credit for. It could be better, but his drip isn’t as bad as he says it is.
Kicker Harrison Crites is another unique situation. As a kicker, Harrison does not have a very large need for drip, similar to linemen. However, the use of a white arm sleeve and single black leg sleeve work well for him as a kicker. For that, I give him a 6.5/10. As a kicker, I know he is limited on drip but it could be better. Tyler (below) is proof.
Jackson Ethredge scores a 2/10. This is a defensible argument, as he states himself that he doesn’t believe in “playing dress up”. Instead, he prefers to just play the game and his intimidating size gives him that 2 points.
Tyler Perez has some amazing drip for a punter. Sporting a white Battle mouth guard, double white arm sleeves and gloves along with black Under Armour leg sleeves that match the uniform pants, he gets an easy 8/10. It just looks too clean for a punter.
Donovan Hamilton believes he doesn’t have much drip, which is somewhat true, but he isn’t getting a 0/10. I’m giving Hamp a 4/10 mostly because of his stand out hairstyle and long sleeve black undershirt. Similar to Jackson, he provides most of his drip in his performance.
I didn’t like the idea of rating myself, so I asked the team, who said that I get an 8/10. I have a black Battle back plate, Oakley visor like Max, black Nike gloves, an interchangeable Shock Doctor mouth guard, either double black arm sleeves or a single white sleeve, and a pair of black calf sleeves. I don’t feel I have very much drip as a lineman but the team disagrees.
Connor Sawall scores a 5/10. I’m sorry Connor but I feel like more drip can be added as a lineman. Your eye black designs, black gloves, and occasional shiesty help you a lot, though.
Joseph Gaddy hasn’t had a chance to drip out much as he has been injured for a few weeks, but when he gets back I’m giving him a 7/10. His biggest edge is his use of a pair of black Nike one leg compression pants, which he pairs with the all black uniform. Black gloves, cleats, and a sleeve earn him his solid score.
Last one on the list is Cole Ivey. As a freshman starter, Cole stepped up his drip game with his advancement to a starting spot. While it is simple, the pair of white scrunch socks, white cleats, and matching gloves give him some points. Although more can be added, I’m giving Cole a 7.5/10. For a freshman this is good but it’s hard to compete with the upperclassmen.
Pictures courtesy of Peter Martin, Henry Stoklosa Jr., and Steve Slack
