Fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders – a professional football team in the Canadian Football League – have found another use for watermelons… as helmets. It seems “Rider Nation,” as the team’s fan base is called, has started a tradition in which true Roughrider fans show up to games wearing a hollowed out watermelon as headgear.
Apparently the trend has even caused a shortage of watermelons at supermarkets in the days preceding a game. Before the football league’s Grey Cup tournament in November 2009, thousands of watermelons had to be special ordered by Calgary grocery stores to keep up with the demands of Roughrider fans.
If you’re interested in making your own watermelon helmet – even if you just want to wear it around the house – here’s a video that teaches you how. I just hope all those fans found an equally good use for the watermelon they scooped out of the rinds before they put them on their heads.