A member of the UT Longhorn band wearing 3 hats.
I was rather surprised at how often I would see members of the band wearing multiple hats during the game. Initially, I assumed it was some kind of joke but eventually asked someone and discovered that there was a more practical explanation. For some reason, bandmembers are not supposed to visit the restroom wearing their hat so, when nature calls, they have to leave it with someone else. Rather than run the risk of it getting stood on, one of their fellow players holds on to it like this until they return.
Our hats are very susceptible to stains and other damage, so to protect them we leave them in the stands. Also, fans from rival schools have a tendency to try and steal hats, and when we leave the stands in pairs to go restroom we’d rather not have our hats stolen off our heads.
Rachel,
Thanks for the explanation – that makes a great deal of sense! By the way, if you know anyone in the band who wants a copy of any of these pictures, please have them email me and I’ll send them the files.