OPINION
HOLDING
C O U R T by ANDREW GILMAN
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IWhere Fashion Doesn ’ t Have to Fit
In February , champion golfer Jason Day showed up for a tournament wearing sweatpants . The golf world was stunned .
In the golf universe , it was a needlescratching-the-record , hand-to-theside-of-the-face kind of thing that only happens when your sport is stuffier than a crowded elevator .
The sweat ensemble hit TV screens and social media in earnest and suddenly the golf space was chock full of opinions .
This is what happens when your sport is part “ Project Runway ” mixed with a heaping serving of country club elite . What you wear matters , and how you look matters more .
Now , Jason Day is by all accounts a capital fellow , and if you put him on the pickleball court with a paddle instead of a 9-iron in that very same attire he was sporting on the tee box , the reception wouldn ’ t create a fissure that spawned a full day ’ s read of articles , opinions and editorials about what this could mean for the sport moving forward .
On the golf course , it ’ s a fashion emergency . On the pickleball court , it doesn ’ t get you a second look .
For all its positive characteristics — social , health , inclusiveness and more — another significant thing pickleball has going for it is its rampant apathy toward fashion . No one cares . And it ’ s freeing .
This isn ’ t the 8th grade lunchroom . There ’ s no societal pressure to look and dress a certain way . This isn ’ t tennis , which for the better part of a century was buttoned up . And it ’ s not golf , where so many expect players to be dressed like the Monopoly Man before getting ready to take a ride on the Reading .
Isn ’ t that kind of refreshing ? Pickleball is the ultimate “ Come as you are ” community , where t-shirts are encouraged , sweats aren ’ t an issue , and jean shorts — well , they aren ’ t the norm but , hey , you do you .
Unlike other rec sports where uniforms aren ’ t a requirement , pickleball is the place where the clothes don ’ t make the man or woman , and judgment comes after 0-0-2 and not before . We ’ ve all shared the court with the old man with two knee braces , the older woman with the dime store paddle , or the 20-something with “ wrong ” shoes . And we ’ ve all lost to them , too .
That ’ s what you get when a game like pickleball is accessible to the rich and the poor , young and old , the out of shape and also the gym bros . That ’ s what you see when the public courts are full , and the paddle stack is high .
Pickleball is the water cooler of sports . It ’ s a gathering place , a meeting spot , a sanctuary and a release . It might be the only place where it doesn ’ t matter what you wear . Maybe golf will get there someday . •
Andrew Gilman is a pickleball teaching pro with more than 25 years of journalism experience in newspapers , magazines , the internet and radio . He has covered a number of different sports , including the PPA and APP Tour . He lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and son .
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