He Hasn't Cut His Hair In 323 Days. His Favorite Sports Team Is To Blame.

Manchester United opened nan play pinch a 1-0 location conclusion to Arsenal past weekend, taking Ilett and his stake backmost to quadrate one. A trim could beryllium imaginable soon. United’s upcoming schedule features a tally of smaller clubs, starting pinch Fulham connected Sunday followed by Grimsby Town and Burnley. But perennial powerfulness and rival Manchester City awaits connected nan roadworthy earlier a location conflict pinch Chelsea.

There’s a precocious likelihood, barring upset victories, Ilett will beryllium sporting a dark, heavy daze of hairsbreadth good into nan fall. He says his woman doesn’t mind.

“She likes nan king’s defender look,” he joked.

Ilett says nan wager mostly stemmed from boredom. He moved from extracurricular Oxford, England, to Castellón, Spain, successful November 2023 to beryllium person to his girlfriend’s family and raise their 14-month-old daughter. Without immoderate family aliases friends adjacent and successful betwixt jobs, he entertained himself by watching Manchester United games.

But connected Oct. 6, pursuing 4 consecutive winless matches, he decided thing needed to beryllium done. Something that really said to nan shot gods and helped get nan nine backmost successful a affirmative light.

So Ilett buzzed his hairsbreadth and deed “post” connected Instagram.

“Day 1 of not cutting my hairsbreadth until Man United triumph 5 games successful a row,” he said successful nan video. “Aston Villa today. I’m not emotion that confident.”

The squad drew 0-0 that time and nan remainder is history.

The rules of nan situation were simple: beryllium victorious successful 5 competitory matches successful a row. That meant immoderate Premier League, Europa League aliases home cup crippled counted, while friendlies and exhibitions did not.

Over nan first 10 days of nan challenge, he said, he noticed “a fewer group were interested.” It slow started to build to 2,000, past 10,000 and past a period later 50,000. As of Aug. 20, “The United Strand” has 227,000 followers.

“I didn’t expect it to spell connected for this long. I thought it would beryllium a fewer months,” he said. “A funny small point to do. Make immoderate Man United fans laughter successful a reliable time, and past that would beryllium it, it would beryllium each over. We’d beryllium backmost to normal, backmost to winning ways. But it hasn’t rather worked retired for illustration that.”

Manager Alex Ferguson and Nemanja Vidić of Manchester United raise nan convention title trophy aft their lucifer against Swansea successful Manchester connected May 12, 2013.John Peters / Manchester United via Getty Imag

Some of his followers are Manchester United fans who are supporting him during this trying time. Others, he said, are opposing fans rooting for losses to support nan hairsbreadth growing.

“On nan whole, I’ve been really pleased. It has been very positive. Everyone’s been very nice, very supportive, and everyone’s benignant of down me, I suppose, rooting for me,” he said. “There’s moreover a batch of rival fans. I’ve had a fewer Liverpool fans say, ‘You’re nan only Man United instrumentality that I like.’ And I deliberation that’s nan biggest compliment that you could ever get.”

Ilett’s videos are typically little than 10 seconds agelong and simply authorities nan situation rules pinch nan existent time number. The existent fun, however, is really he wears his hair. It’s go truthful agelong he’s now taking requests connected really to showcase it.

Some days it’ll beryllium poofy while others it’ll beryllium curly aliases straight. Some days he’ll dunk it successful a excavation aliases put it up successful colorful hairsbreadth ties. The newest petition is pulling items retired of his mane — a caller video has him playing pinch aggregate fidget spinners.

Ilett says while he’s enjoying his newfound fame, he’s fresh for it to beryllium over. Though there’s a very mini chance he ne'er cuts his hairsbreadth again, he sees nan situation ending this year.

“I americium genuinely optimistic that it will hap this season,” he said. “Now, if you inquire maine successful a year’s time, if it hasn’t happened, past possibly I mightiness not beryllium smiling arsenic much. I’m rather positive, rather optimistic that we’re going to person a bully play this season, and astatine immoderate constituent those 5 wins are going to travel together.”

When his hairsbreadth is cut, he intends connected donating his locks to Little Princess Trust, a U.K.-based kindness that makes wigs for group diagnosed pinch cancer.

Even much inducement for nan stake to beryllium completed.

“I consciousness for illustration I’ve travel this acold now,” he said. “I person to spot it done to nan end, nevertheless agelong that mightiness take.”

Though Manchester United has won England’s apical section 20 times, tied pinch Liverpool for astir successful history, nan past United title came successful 2013. The squad made moves this offseason it believes will get it backmost into contention. After loaning Marcus Rashford to Barcelona, nan nine brought successful forwards Matheus Cunha from Wolves and Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford. Its latest summation whitethorn beryllium nan astir crucial: striker Benjamin Šeško from RB Salzburg, considered among nan apical young scoring talents successful nan world.

NBC Sports’ Joe Prince-Wright said head Ruben Amorim knows “a top-six decorativeness and a beardown cup tally is nan very slightest United request to execute this play if they’re going to show group they’re backmost connected nan correct path.”

“United has been going done this rebuild for astir of nan past decade, but it still feels very akin to nan New England Patriots’ existent achy rebuild aft nan glory days of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady,” Prince-Wright said. “But there’s dream that United tin beryllium competitive, and if they tin enactment coagulated defensively, they now person nan correct operation of players, and characters, successful onslaught to triumph games.”

Hopefully 5 of them successful a row, for Ilett’s sake.

He said if nan squad wins four, he would emotion to perchance acquisition nan last triumph successful personification astatine Old Trafford.

“It’s going to beryllium for illustration nan Champions League last for me. It’s going to beryllium crazy,” he said. “If we sewage to 4 wins successful a row, and I went to nan 5th crippled and I was watching it and we didn’t win, I deliberation it would beryllium nan astir heartbreaking infinitesimal of my full life.”