Cristiano Ronaldo is more than just a superstar footballer and international playboy: he's also a Dad, and part of being a Dad is putting a silly object on your head once in a while.
Look at this photo on Cristiano's Instagram, confirming his Dadness. We should explain what we mean by "Dad": Cristiano's son is six years old, so Cristiano has been a father for that amount of time. He hasn't truly been a Dad, though, until this photo surfaced. Being a Dad isn't merely being a male with a child, it's a state of mind, and this state of mind is on full display.
Look at him in all his Dadness. He's practically wearing cargo shorts and expending an inordinate amount of energy packing a cooler. Next thing you know he'll be watching Mythbusters marathons and cracking dumb jokes.
Soon, instead of "check out my line of perfumes" or "check out my line of hyper-expensive, useless shoes" it'll be "look at this new grill I bought" and "guys these white New Balance sneakers are sweet."
When athletes age, usually the most noticeable change is in their physical abilities, but not a lot of attention is paid to attitudinal changes. Those are just as prevalent, though. Cristiano Ronaldo is in the midst of a transformation from celebrity footballing stud person to dad who happens to play soccer as his job. This transformation isn't, obviously, a pretty one, but it's one we're going to have to endure. Once you start down the path of Dadness, there's no turning back.
It's going to be weird watching one of the most swagtastic athletes of this century morph into Dad, but this is only the beginning. Brace yourselves.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
