Old School Snapback Hats are Making a Comeback, Do They Foreshadow Coming Notre Dame Dominance?

A few weeks ago I was walking to the movie theater in my local mall when I saw a large sign outside of a store advertising the the return of the "Snapback" hats.

At first I was like, "Huh? What are those?"

Then as I walked closer to the advertisement I realized, "Oh wow, remember when hats had the plastic adjustable strips in the back!"

It had been years since I'd even thought about those hats, since no one seems to make them anymore.

Well now they're making a big comeback.

How many years has it been since Snapbacks were worn by the majority of people in this country and fitted and other styles were much more rare?

I can still remember a time as a kid, probably around the age of 7, looking at a picture of Philadelphia Phillies manager Danny Ozark arguing with an umpire and noticing that both men were wearing fitted hats. It was then I came to the realization that all Major League players wore fitted hats, and I thought that was the coolest thing.

But back then (circa 1989), fitted hats weren't exactly hard to find, but it was pretty rare for anyone to wear one in public. Now, the vast majority of people wear fitted hats.

Anyway, I went into my local Lids recently to check out these new Snapback hats to try and soak in some nostalgia from my youth. And boy was I pumped to find three different Notre Dame hats there.

Probably the best part of the hats are that they are designed to look retro from the late 1980's and early 90's.

I don't think I need to explain how awesome that is. And now I wonder, with these hats making a comeback (for all teams---there was a L.A. Kings one that looked so NWA and thus, totally bad ass) does this mean Notre Dame football is going to return to a period of dominance that was seen from 1988 to 1993?

Maybe that's a stretch (the correlation that is, not the dominance!) but here is a look at the hats anyway:

The Joe Moore Edition

This hat is named after former Irish offensive line coach Joe Moore (I'm making this up, please don't go into your local hat store and ask for the "Joe Moore Notre Dame hat").

It's relatively simple, but the front logo carries enough punch to grab your attention, just like Moore liked his offensive lines.

Putting this on your head you automatically earn the respect of your peers, develop a stern way of speaking, and can intimidate grown men as much as 75% larger than yourself.

The Ricky Watters Edition

This hat will give anybody a boost of confidence.

It's flashy and unorthodox design lets people know that you're the cool person they should be hanging out with.

Putting this on your head you automatically double your foot speed, boost your playmaking abilities in life, and become one hellacious trash talker.

This is the one I settled on because...look at it.

This hat speaks to you and whispers, "Miami will be defeated and winning streaks shall come forth."

Putting this hat on your head you automatically speak with a slight lisp, but make up for it with an insane ability to motivate people and control a room with witty and sometimes deeply sincere comments.

What kind of Notre Dame hats do you own and like to wear?

How about this one:

I don't know where you live, but where I'm from this hat is mandatory for any Notre Dame fan. In fact, you should probably be on your third or fourth hat of this variety by now because you've worn the hell out of the others.

This hat is nice, but you have to change it up every once and a while. Last time I was gingerly strolling through Hammes Bookstore I fell in love with this beauty:

I couldn't deny the 60's style facemask and the shamrock on the helmet. It was just too powerful to walk out of there without it.

Of course I reasoned that this was a subtle way of the program telling us the shamrock was coming back, and I jumped on that bangwagon immediately as many of you may know.

This year you'll need a new hat and staying with the shamrock theme you could (sham)rock this:

This lid is part of the new 2011 line called "The Spirit of Notre Dame" in conjunction with the night game at Michigan this year where the team will be wearing the retro white and green uniforms.

I don't even know what's on the back and I'm already sold by the Adidas Trefoil logo and the felt shamrock.

Seriously...it's felt.*

*winning

What's your style?

What's your favorite Irish cap?^

^Unless of course you're part of the (you know who) crowd and think silly hats are beneath you and degrade a once proud university, complain about the school being a revenue whore through merchandise, yet brag about your donation powers, when buying a hat is basically the same thing with the exception of me looking so fresh and so clean and you looking like a turd.

So please, share with us your hats or hat stories if you like.