Have you seen the blonde headed trolls walking around the halls of Tyrone Area High School this week?

Those “trolls” are indeed the Tyrone varsity football players.

In honor of making it to district championships, most of the football team is following a tradition that goes back at least as far as the 1999 state championship team: they bleached their hair.

Officially the team is denying that the bleach jobs were a “plan.”  When asked about it, here’s what they had to say:

“What do you mean ‘dyed’ hair?” said senior Nick Getz.

“I didn’t dye my hair, I got struck by lightning,” said senior Cameron Bakhsheshe, who also shaved a lightning bolt  in the back of his head.

“Our hair just happened to turn this color because we accidentally fell into radioactive goop,” says senior Noah Tepsic.

“Actually, we are starting a cult,” claims senior Garrett Hunter.

And the most “interesting” reason probably came from senior Jake Makdad, who said:

“There are six monkeys in a cage. The cage has a ladder leading to a bunch of bananas. When the monkeys see this, they try to climb and get the bananas. At the top there is a scientist that dumps water onto the monkeys. The monkeys realize that the scientist is going to pour water on them. The scientist takes one of the original monkeys out, leaving five original and one new monkey. The new monkey tries to go get the bananas but the other monkeys pull him down and beat him up, fearing the ice water. Soon enough, all the original monkeys get rotated out and there are six new monkeys that don’t know why they beat a monkey up when it climbs to the top of the ladder, they just do,” said Makdad.

We don’t know what their moms think of their new look, but opinions among Tyrone’s teachers were mostly positive.

“I think it’s cool! It shows spirit and shows that the team has a lot of heart and determination” said English teacher Kathy Beigle. “It’s telling everyone that they are united, determined and ready.”

“I think it builds team unity. My senior year we all shaved our heads” former Tyrone football player and current physical education teacher Marcus Owens.

“I think it’s a great sign of team spirit. I love it!” declared social studies teacher Cummins McNitt.

“I love that it shows team unity but the super blonde hair with the dark facial hair makes me laugh” said math teacher Erika Martin, “Next year they should dye their facial hair including their eyebrows. Their blonde hair reminds me of my most adorable student, Amber Chamberlin.”

The team plays Mount Union this Saturday at 7:00 pm at Mansion Park in Altoona.

Bringing a pair of sunglasses is advised.