People often considered true visionaries are also sometimes known for their tendency to adopt unusual dress practices, like endless wardrobes of the same outfit so they don't have to waste mental energy on deciding what to wear each day or deputizing someone else to make every tiny outfit choice for them. Visionary genius and creator of Magic: The Gathering Richard Garfield, Ph.D. is no exception, and is well known for only wearing mismatched socks that he pulls from his "sock box".
A few months ago, Pro Tour Historian Brian David-Marshall tweeted a suggestion from Corey Baumeister that we all celebrate Magic's 25th Anniversary this weekend by wearing mismatched socks, and that tweet quickly gained traction across the Magic community around the world.
Already looking ahead to the next PT which celebrates the 25th anniversary of #MTG. Taking the idea from @CoreyBaumeister that we should ALL wear mismatched socks throughout that weekend to show our appreciation of Richard Garfield on his brainchild's birthday.
— Brian David-Marshall (@Top8Games) June 4, 2018
#PT25A #mtg #sockgame pic.twitter.com/GRnK5DG7ae
— Jonathan Carter (@JonathanACarter) August 3, 2018
Civilian/Casual Friday #MTG #sockgame in honor of the fall Guilds of Ravnica set pic.twitter.com/HsepYvpNoc
— Ian D (@dixonij) August 3, 2018
Supporting the birthday at GenCon. pic.twitter.com/MmZSabBm28
— Jeremy Noell @ GEN CON (@jeremynoell) August 3, 2018
Let’s get some Grizzly Bears in here! pic.twitter.com/1EZMoKyfVU
— Paul Baranay (@twotwobearz) August 3, 2018
Here at the Pro Tour, people are grinning while hitching up their trousers at each other like some kind of bizarre initiation ritual, and social media is aflutter with people sharing their sock choices for the weekend. I don't want to out myself as disorganized or a procrastinator here, but before I could even choose my own fancy socks to bring on this trip, my five-year-old daughter had already picked some out for me, and she chose exceptionally well. Today I am sporting cherries on righty, and the Beatle's Yellow Submarines on lefty.
Content Kiwi Ray "blisterguy" Walkinshaw and Content Manager Mike "Rosey" Rosenberg.
Gerry @G3RRYT Thompson and Nadine @NissaCosplay.
Veteran Pro Tour Photographer Craig Gibson. Definitely not a sea captain.
Richard Garfield would probably cringe at how much we're enjoying spending time talking about and sharing our odd socks with each other, given the whole idea in the first place was to save time that could be better utilized making Magic, but do yourself a favor: If you found yourself donning matching socks this morning, whip one off and find another that utterly fails to match so that you too can play Magic as Richard Garfield truly intended.