Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2013 December 14

= December 14 =

Marks under the eyes
I am sorry if this is the wrong desk, who knows. I've been kind of wondering what is the purpose of football players, for instance, to put those greasy black marks under their eyes? Sometimes they are just horizontal bars but occasionally are larger and cover the cheeks, etc.

Thanks, AboutFAce_22 — Preceding unsigned comment added by AboutFace 22 (talk • contribs) 19:06, 14 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Eye black -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 19:12, 14 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Curiously, only worn by sportsmen in North America, as far as I know. Alansplodge (talk) 09:10, 15 December 2013 (UTC)
 * I've seen some baseballers in Australia doing it, but they're clearly just following the lead of their American heroes in an American sport. HiLo48 (talk) 23:36, 15 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Rüştü Reçber (a non-North-American soccer goalkeeper) did it. It sort of became his trademark, but I have no idea what had inspired him. ---Sluzzelin talk  23:46, 15 December 2013 (UTC)
 * It was briefly popular in Australian rules football during the late 70s. I guess it would be more of an issue for the larger sportsman, particularly if the face has been squished into a helmet. Hack (talk) 08:48, 18 December 2013 (UTC)
 * That makes me wonder if it really does much good, or if they just keep wearing it as a tradition. StuRat (talk) 09:56, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

My son-in-law thinks it is to prevent "reflections of the sun into the eyes?" I am not sure it is true or not. AboutFace_22 — Preceding unsigned comment added by AboutFace 22 (talk • contribs) 16:12, 15 December 2013 (UTC)


 * To me, that implies a very strangely shaped face. HiLo48 (talk) 23:40, 15 December 2013 (UTC)


 * At least for me, I can't see my cheeks unless I do an exaggerated smile, but I can see the sides of my nose. So, putting it on the sides of my nose might makes more sense.  Of course, if my face was swollen, that might make my cheeks visible to me all the time. StuRat (talk) 23:54, 15 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Aussie cricketers use white. Thincat (talk) 20:13, 15 December 2013 (UTC)


 * White wouldn't stop reflections. I believe that might be zinc oxide, which is used to prevent sunburn.  That would explain why it's also on the lips, which have thin skin and are thus susceptible to sunburn. StuRat (talk) 23:49, 15 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Yep. That's right. I suspect Thincat knew that, and was attempting a joke. Sadly, such things don't always work on the Interwebs. HiLo48 (talk) 23:53, 15 December 2013 (UTC)


 * I was going to link to a page about Native American "war paint" - which seems the most likely explanation - but our War paint page shows that we don't have one. Alansplodge (talk) 08:48, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

Another thing that crossed my mind is that perhaps they do it to intimidate their opponents but in this case they could have used more grotesque facial art. AboutFace 22 (talk) 02:07, 17 December 2013 (UTC)AboutFace_22