sweatpants, appeal of?

Since I came to work at my current place of employment -- (a PAC-10 major research university) I have noticed one peculiar form of dress for the men. Can anyone say sweatpants? For several days I've been trying to decide what the appeal is. There are definitely two factions: the jock, and the geeky guy who would've worn sweatpants even if they weren't en vogue. I've come up with two scenarios:

1) Practicality/comfort - Sweatpants are easy to put on, they have an elastic waist, they don't really get "wrinkled" so don't require ironing or a "refresher" in the dryer. Typically they're made from cotton so clean easily too. While these are fairly convincing reasons, please read on.

2) Appeal (could it be?) - Initially this didn't even come to mind. Sweatpants always seem like they're bulky and shapeless and really just .. well, unattractive. But then, I started to pay attention to detail. These things can reveal more than the tightest jeans in your dresser. I didn't think I'd ever see such well-defined packages anywhere other than underwear models in catalogs. I'm wrong! You also get some pretty amazing definition of the rear-end too. The different types of sweatpants come into play here, the lightweight and somewhat "clingy" fabric, all the way to the thick and bulky fabric.

It's definitely not just athletes that are wearing them, all types of guys are wearing them...some with more success than others. An interesting phenomena, I wonder how much longer it will last before this crop of men try to assimilate into the girl jean fad.

men, it's spring, shave your legs!

So I'm wondering if there has been an announcement sent to all men that I haven't received? Perhaps mine was simply sent to the wrong e-mail address or lost in the mail? I began tallying the number of men with shorn limbs after three sets of glistening calves moved past my peripheral vision.

How many did I see over the course of the evening? Nine men with shaved legs! There are a few reasons I would find it acceptable for men to shave their legs: swimmers, it cuts down on drag; drag queens/female impersonators, ya gotta keep it smooth so it doesn't poke through the hose; and ballet dancers, again, the poking through hose issue.

I was once dared to shave my legs, this was about 4 years ago. I thought it would be funny and proceeded to prepare for the grand event. I'm a pretty hairy guy so instead of beginning immediately with a razor, I started with a pair of electric clippers. It was like shearing a sheep. Yes, I've done that too, don't ask. Once finished with that, I began the razor work. It was mildly therapeutic, starting from the ankle and working my way up. Eventually I got to a point where I had to ask my friend "at what point do I stop?" We decided that mid-thigh was acceptable for this experiment. What an unusual feeling! My jeans felt like I was wearing salt-crusted canvas. Given my personal experience, I don't understand the appeal and still cannot find a good reason for this activity.

I have to admit that my status as a gay male doesn't lend me authority to make a blanketed judgement on this subject. I can only give my own opinion: what the hell?