A Losing Streak

Remember? Or, how could you forget?

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Naked and Unafraid

Oh, the horror!

The audience was mortified every time it happened.

A naked person - or persons - unexpectedly appeared out of nowhere, to the surprise of the unwitting participants of this event.

“Streaking” as it was labeled, was perhaps the most ridiculous of fads that we Gen-Xers had to live through. “Ridiculous” might be an understatement; calling it downright stupid is being kind.

This mid-70s foray into the absurd was unbelievably something that many excited folks actually partook in with glee, proudly, without shame. The rules were simple: strip off one’s clothes and run through a heavily-populated area for the sheer shock value of it all.

Streaking was a thing for a few years. Let’s be thankful that the time came and went for this questionable trend.

It started with a guy bolting across a football field, buck naked. It took off from there, literally and figuratively. By the mid 1970s, it was all the rage. Everybody and their uncle was stripping down and sprinting, anywhere and everywhere.

Simple. And stupid. Really stupid.

And yet it was foisted upon unsuspecting victims nonetheless.

And yet it endured.

Michael O’Brian famously streaks at the 1974 soccer match between England and Australia. O’Brian, a stockbroker from Australia, was dared £10 to run naked across the field during the game.

"Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off his clothes and showing his shortcomings?"

David Niven, Academy Awards, 1974

Perhaps the apex of the streaking trend was realized at the 1974 Academy Awards with the distinguished actor, David Niven, presenting. In the midst of the actor’s speech presenting the next award to the deserving winner, a naked man sprinted across the stage, wearing only a peace sign and a smile. Not missing a beat, Niven quipped “Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off his clothes and showing his shortcomings?”

(Watch the video of this memorable streaking event below)

Though some form of streaking has been around for millennia, in modern times the act is more commonly associated with political protest, college pranks and pure, unadulterated exhibitionism. It might be argued that with the latter, the need to “be seen” is at the heart of every individual that threw caution - and clothes - to the wind and ran through the streets/stadiums/dorms in their birthday suit.

Which begs the question: what’s changed since the golden age of streaking?

Has anything changed at all?

Exhibitionism is still here: hello, Selfie Generation

The exhibitionism is still here. Heck - look at social media, “influencers” and the culture of digital sharing. What one has for breakfast, one’s latest vacation and the obligatory selfie (or three) are par for the digital course. Tik Tok, Instagram and many of the popular platforms make it incredibly easy to share…everything.

Streaking now seems like a quaint and harmless thrill for exhibitionists from back in the day. Imagine their shock and horror (and perhaps thrill) of the possibilities presented by digital communications. Being naked in front of strangers? As easy as a click of a button.

In an age of social media, streaking now seems like a quaint and harmless thrill for exhibitionists from back in the day.

The “look at me” element of streaking; the exhibitionism and demand for attention is nothing in the face of what we have at our fingertips in this new millennium. And though many may have been horrified by the unexpected birthday suits that appeared in their sights back in streaking’s heyday, they had no idea how much worse the situation would become decades later. Social media by definition demands sharing - and oversharing. If the latter includes nudity - which it often does - so be it.

To this end, the shock of nakedness that was once foisted upon an unsuspecting public, and which caused such embarrassment and surprise to captive audiences, is unheard of today. We all know the types of things that anyone can find online; for this reason, exposure to an unanticipated birthday suit - and only a birthday suit - would almost be welcome…almost.

Thus, in a time when nudity - and so much more - is there for the (virtual) taking, a quick streak across a soccer field doesn’t seem so bad. While we were mortified by the brazen in-your-face spectacle of streaking in the 70s, we had no idea what was to come just a few decades later.

Gen-Xers were primed way back when to the shock of the unexpected and the comedic value of the naked runner. Perhaps that’s why those of us of a certain age are hard to surprise or stun. We’ve seen it all before - literally.

David Niven and the Streaker

So big was the streaking fad that this song - “The Streak” burned up the airwaves back in 1974 in an homage to the popular fad of the day.

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