The Catsuit Craze
What’s your biggest fear? Snakes? Public speaking? Perhaps you’re like Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s character in the movie Central Intelligence and are petrified of people seeing […]
What’s your biggest fear? Snakes? Public speaking? Perhaps you’re like Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s character in the movie Central Intelligence and are petrified of people seeing you naked. Think about it for a second. Got it? Now think about experiencing that fear and having your reaction exposed on a stage with millions of people watching.
The date was June 8 th in the year of our Kansas City Royals’ resurrection, 2014. Derek Jeter and his New York Yankees had travelled to the home of my best buddy, John Stoner and I’s favorite weekend getaway and home of the Kansas City Royals, Kauffman Stadium. Jeter had announced his intention to retire at season’s end in February and was in the middle of his farewell tour. Fans in baseball cities nationwide were coming up with creative ways to say goodbye while thanking him for being an ambassador to America’s favorite pastime. John and I would not be outdone.
Weeks prior while surfing the interwebs, John had found some ridiculously outlandish wrestling singlets featuring a large profile pic of a cat on the front and back. We had discussed purchasing them without knowing the event in which they would be leveraged. Our thinking, however, was what environment wouldn’t be infinitely improved with the addition of two dudes in cat wrestling singlets or catsuits as they would later be identified?
While watching the shenanigans implored by fans nationwide in celebration of Derek Jeter’s storied career on ESPN’s SportsCenter one day, John and I had our answer. We bought our tickets to the June 8 th Royals vs. Yankees game and suited up in our ridiculous outfits.
Full disclosure, I’m not deathly afraid of making a fool of myself. John and I had made the world our stage for years and were no strangers to folks laughing at our misfortune. However, if you’re not a man, you may not understand the complex that young boys create for one another in the locker rooms of elementary school. Regardless of whether one is “gifted” or not, many boys often wonder how they stack up against others and are afraid to learn the answer. While I wasn’t afraid of making a fool of myself, the thought of my kibbles and bits being exposed to the masses created a little anxiety.
Away we went. Donning our silly catsuits, John and I made signs “littered” with cat puns such as, “Derek Jeter, One Classy Cat” and “Strike ‘Em Out Right Meow. With signs in hand and bodies exposed, we headed to Kaufmann Stadium.
As we walked into the venue, we were greeted immediately with laughter. However, a funny thing happened. The laughter was soon accompanied by high-fives, smiles and awesome comments. Don’t get me wrong, there were some rude people who didn’t have very nice things to say. Matter of fact, some had some downright awful things to say. These people were in the minority and will always exist but they were quickly drowned out by those celebrating our boldness.
Soon, folks began coming up to us requesting pictures. Oh, the pictures. We took well over 100 pics that day and wound up being tagged in Facebook photos of people all over the Kansas City Community. We made an appearance on the JumboTron, made live TV multiple times while dancing in the stands, were interviewed live on a local Fox morning news program and were featured in publications around the nation like Yahoo Sports, Deadspin and ultimately, a full page article in the Wall Street Journal.
Several people commented that day that they wish they had the confidence to do what we did. To which I consistently responded, “why can’t you?” It was that day that I realized something very important. Everybody is looking for something to take their mind off, even for a brief moment, the troubles of their day.
A friend once told me, “don’t worry about what people think about you, because they don’t think about you.” What a humbling statement! But damn. How true! We spend countless hours worrying about what others think and the bulk of the time folks are only worried about their own problems. If they are worried about us it is only to mask their insecurities or to escape their own reality for a short moment.
When I finally worked up the courage to put on that catsuit with John, I realized that our silliness was actually helping others. It was helping them to forget about their troubles for a brief moment and laugh. As our catsuit adventures continued in the days, months and years to follow, we crossed paths with many people who needed an escape. Our role in helping others and purpose in life had been solidified.
