Raincharm’s Weblog

There is a long story behind the fez. It doesn’t mean anything. It is a goofy novelty from Archie McFees, from many years ago, and a friend who likes baseball. On a road trip to watch some baseball games in California, Dan joined the group in Eugene and set the Fez on Carl’s head, asking him to wear it on the trip. And so it began.

The Oakland fans started calling him the Grand Poohbah. Think about the Flintstones. But they joked around with him instead of heckling him as a Mariner fan.

The fez continued as part of the game experience for the rest of the year. And then the next year, and the next, … Carl became more recognizable. Those fans and stadium workers around our seats have been aware of his love of baseball, but this started to expand his name.

Then there was the Fan of the Year honor in 2014. And the 2 caricatures a few years later.

And now, a song. Really. By another friend.

It was gifted yesterday, out of the blue. This is my video attempt, and of course my phone ran out of storage before they were done. Spend 5 minutes with us, it is a spot of joy. All Hail the Fez <– missing a few stanzas, but has the lyrics at the end. And here is the complete version – All Hail the Fez – Take 2

Thanks to Doug Peterson for the song, Jan Greenspan for the accompiament, Dan Dixon for starting it all, and to Kevin Shannon and Mark Handley for sharing all the ups and downs that being a Mariner fan entails and keeping Carl reasonably sane.

And for those who want to relive the 2014 Fan of the Year presentation, another 2 minutes.

This entry was posted on September 13, 2021 at 10:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.