The Art of Swagger

To me, art has no limitations. It is limitless. The possibilities are innumerable. To think that scenic art is a new phenomenon where someone just snaps any picture and it is labeled as “art” just shows me that anything can ACTUALLY be art, and anyone can be an artist. Today, art schools are no longer being utilized by the common artist. Some forms of art cannot be taught by a prestigious artistic academy. Any person can just take a picture of anything with a Kodak disposable camera from the ‘90s and it is art. Art is being revolutionized each day by new things that are being admired by the public. Thinking further I was blinded by a new phenomenon in art; a form of art that is going to change the way people are viewed forever.

            Fashion has forever been respected as art. Today, you cannot open a magazine or newspaper or log online without being presented with fashion. Fashion is all around us. But a new sense of fashion is sweeping the younger generation. Swagger can be a number of things. But to me, swagger is the newest form of art. Swagger is to move with confidence, sophistication, and to be cool. Swagger is to conduct your self in a way that would automatically earn respect. Specifically, I want to focus on the way people dress that puts on swagger. For instance, when you are at a party, people know when you arrive and where you are at all times just because of your swagger. In public, you turn heads by your swag. Swagger is being used all over whether it is in sports, in music, and in your everyday lives.

            This weekend, I was glued to my TV watching the various college basketball games that were on.  One team in particular caught my eye, and that was Baylor University. Baylor has never had a dominant basketball program since the 1950s, but something has changed in the small school in Texas. Top recruits are coming to play at Baylor, and they are winning. In the 17 years prior to 2008, Baylor has had one postseason visit to March Madness. But since 2008, Baylor has made it to the dance every year since. I believe that this is due to the newfound swagger that they have in their uniforms. This weekend, Baylor wore two uniforms back-to-back days that were so hideous that it was controversial. Baylor came out dressed in lime green the first day, and a dark green with camouflage the second. I believe that high school players are being attracted to Baylor by their swagger. Baylor is not the first school to implement this swagger in uniforms; they are just the first school to perfect it. Rhetorically, I think that the uniforms evoke pathos, ethos, and logos, which is overlooked by most. 

            Ethos is shown in swagger by making a statement. Like all fashion, the art of swagger says “This is who I am, and I am trendy and fashionable.” In Baylor’s case, they use their uniforms to utilize ethos. They show a brand of cockiness on and off the court. Going along with ethos found in Baylor, their swagger evokes logos by saying, “You should attend Baylor and play basketball here because we are trendy and we are hip.”  Finally, the uniforms evoke pathos just by the bright colors. It invokes to the fans and the nation. Baylor University is using a new form of art to put their school on the map. Baylor may be a mediocre basketball program, but I know that I will be rooting them on throughout March Madness not as a fan of the players, but as a fan of the art of swagger that they are revolutionizing.  

 http://www.sportslogos.net/blog/tag/baylor-bears/