Just to make people smile: Yorkton sports fan's beard a crowd pleaser

It takes up to six hours for Hans Madsen to get ready to go watch a game, and the sports fan from Yorkton does it all just to make people smile.

“Last week we went to a Blue Jays’ game and I put the Blue Jays logo in my beard … and it went sky high from the sounds of it.”

The picture of Madsen made it onto the big screen at the Tuesday game and was shared across social media. But it’s far from the first time Madsen has stood out in a crowd.

blue jays man looks like he has so much on his mind pic.twitter.com/XTXsJWQWNS

— Jack Moore (@jh_moore) April 13, 2016

“We’ve been season-ticket holders with the Riders forever so that’s where it all stems from. Everybody gets dressed up for the Riders.”

Then Madsen and his wife, Judy, began dressing up at other games. He took his wigs, paint and costumes along to Europe about eight years ago for a curling tournament, unsure if it would be seen as inappropriate. Madsen says he now often gets requests to dress up when he’s attending games.

Each outfit is thought out by Madsen and his wife. They use a series of stencils to draw a pattern onto his beard.

“The wife colours it in. And hopefully it works,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, well then it’s back in the shower and wash it out, come back and try it once more.”

The couple are strong supporters of the women’s curling team, but make sure to show support for all teams from all countries.

While Madsen will try to change into several different outfits throughout the day at tournaments, he says one look may take up to six hours to complete.

“(The beard’s colour) is powder, it’s paint, it’s food colouring – depending on what we’re doing. A lot of it is just a hair cosmetic play.”

Madsen added that there’s been times when he’s had difficulty washing the colour out, once having to fly back from Europe with red still in his beard.

Madsen’s even expanding from sports games with his looks. On the way to a tournament in Grand Prairie, he put the WestJet logo in his beard in honour of the carrier’s 20th anniversary.