Like many people who play sports and follow sports, I have sports superstition. It’s like Crash Davis said to Annie in Bull Durham, “A ballplayer on a streak has to respect the streak! They don't happen very often. You know how hard this game is? If you believe you're playing well because you're getting laid or because you're not getting laid or because you wore women’s underwear – then you are!” And then Annie tells him she wants him. That was peak Kevin Costner, and it’s been a while since I watched that movie but I have that scene memorised.

Anyway, the streak I’m talking about today is the New York Knicks. They’re in the NBA Eastern Conference finals against the Cavaliers after sweeping the 76ers. That’s a streak. And one of their most prominent celebrity fans, who’s been a fixture at all their home playoff games, showed up last night for game one … with a haircut and a shave.

For months now, maybe longer, Timothée Chalamet’s been wearing his hair slightly grown out and unstyled with a moustache and goatee. Last night, he showed up with a trim and a fresh face.

When I saw him I was like, why would you f-ck with a streak? The Knicks will lose tonight. Then I checked the score in the third quarter, saw that the Knicks were down by almost 20, and made a note to write about it today, convinced that there was no way.

Well… it was a comeback. So I guess Timmy didn’t jinx his team. Or, rather, the Knicks’ fate is not dependent on whatever Timothée Chalamet is doing with his hair. He is, however, undeniably friendly with the organisation and the players.

This is definitely an improvement over whatever that was during the Marty Supreme run. People on socials are saying he’s aged down five years. It’s true, the youthful spark seems to have somewhat returned. 

Is this for work or is it just his mood? Timmy has at least several projects in development though there’s been no word about when production is set to begin. The one that seems most likely to get going first would be James Mangold’s High Side, in which he would play a motocross racer who gets recruited by his brother to rob banks. So it’s a racing movie and a heist movie in one movie. His hair is kinda giving motocross… but again, since High Side was announced there’s been no status update so this is pure speculation. It could very well be that Timmy has a wide open summer before he begins promotion for Dune 3 with Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. I look forward to that energy combination, because it’ll either be awkward or chaotically awkward and a mess on social media.

Photo credits: X/Timothée Chalamet Nation

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