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SYRACUSE, NY - Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "A chief event of life is the day in which we have encountered a mind that startled us." The same could be said of mustaches and Syracuse Orange fans will be startled no more now that DE Mikhail Marinovich has shaved his mustache.
From humble beginnings, Mikhail Marinovich's mustache was born of greatness and a need to be feted. It asked not for the masses to use it as a beacon of light, but they did it anyway.
It allowed us to dream of a world where anyone could wear a just a mustache and do so proudly. It even inspired others to take us the cause and engage in some good old-fashioned horseplay.
Some celebrated the mustache in wearable form. Others imagined a world where the mustachioed man was truly king. Throughout it all, the 'stache remained classy to the end.
And now, it's over. We have lost a friend, a companion and a source of great enlightenment. Dare I even say, we have lost one of the all-time greats. Mikhail Marinovich's Mustache...you will be missed.
Reports vary but most seem to indicate that the clipping were scattered along Ernie Davis Legends Field as a blessing to strengthen the Syracuse football team in their battles ahead. That the clippings were vacuumed up just moments later made this gesture bittersweet.
In the Great Bleacher Report Slideshow in the Sky, may you always be No. 1 on the Greatest Sports-Related Mustaches Of All Time Slideshow.
Rest In Peace, Mustacheovich. And remember the words of Mikhail, always...
"When you have a stache...you order crepes off menus. It's mandatory."