At first, my friends thought I was just being lazy and not shaving. The next guess was that I was going for the rugged look. Now the most popular theory is that I’m practicing being homeless in anticipation of life with a political science degree. The truth is, I’m doing my duty as a loyal sports fan.

What’s growing on my face is a “”playoff beard,”” the kind you often see hockey players wear. You shave before the playoffs start and shave again when your season is over, but it’s part of a bigger concept.

Last year in my humanities class, I learned the Latin phrase “”Do ut des,”” which means, “”I give so that you will give.”” At least, that’s what my professor told me. For all I know, it could mean, “”Your mother sniffs parsley,”” but I digress.

This same concept was expressed by Blackalicious at FallFest. They said, “”Y’all give us the energy, and we’ll give it right back to you.”” It’s not all about taking and selfishly hoarding satisfaction out of those who perform; there’s a responsibility to give back and inspire those who inspire us.

In fact, that’s what sitting in the front row is all about. If you’re reading this column, I assume that you get a great deal of joy and amusement out of sports. So do I. But that’s not supposed to be where the cycle stops. I take that energy and excitement that sports give to me and try to express it right back to the players so that the joy they take in playing will be increased as well.

Hence: the beard. My beloved Giants are fighting their way through the playoffs and giving me hours of enjoyable October baseball that relatively few fans across the country can have. In return, I offer them my support, my encouragement and my face. The hair is itchy, annoying and quite a sacrifice for me, but as long as the Giants last, so does the facial hair.

“”What possible encouragement does a UCSD student’s shaving habits have on a professional baseball team, you wonder?””

My response to that is that you never know who’s reading the Guardian. Some clubhouse attendant’s nephew may forward him the article, and soon it’s posted on a bulletin board giving Barry and the boys enough motivation to take them all the way.

Do ut des. It’s not such a bad philosophy, and giving a little often leads to getting a whole lot more in return. Take sitting in the front row. You yell and scream and cheer, but after a big win you leave feeling like a million bucks, and when your noise pumped up the home team or made the visiting team mess up, it’s even better.

Even the facial hair has added benefits. After FallFest, a bunch of friends and I went to El Cotixan’s to get a bite to eat, and I saw a beautiful girl there. She had brown, curly hair, bright blue eyes and was wearing a pink shirt and jeans. She looked at me and I looked at her, and I attribute this atypical attention to the beard. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to talk to her, so if you’re out there, e-mail me and we’ll do ut dessert sometime.

Give back, fans. The days of selfish sports addicts are over. It’s time to give back so that you can get even more in return. Come find me in the front row, and you’ll find out what I mean, or stop by my place after the Giants win the World Series. As they celebrate with champagne, I’ll be celebrating with a razor. Until then, if you see me, please don’t forget what the beard means: “”Do ut des, go Giants!”” not “”Will work for food.””