Ric Osacek Was Our Hero, But Not For The Reason You Probably Think

I'm bummed that The Cars front man Ric Osacek passed away on Sunday. My friends and I worshiped him, but it wasn't just for his music....he was our hope. Let me explain...

When I was in high school and college my friends and I listened to The Cars a lot. Personally, I was more of a heavy metal fan, but something about the new wave/punk/pop rock sound of The Cars appealed to me.

There was another reason that my friends and I loved The Cars...and more specifically Ric Ocasek. He gave us hope that sometimes the ugly guy dates and marries the beautiful girl. Okay, ugly might be a little harsh, but seriously Ric Ocasek was always kinda of a weird looking dude. However, he was a weird looking guy that married supermodel Paulina Porizkova and because of that, he was our inspiration. He gave us the courage to ask out the girl that might be "out of our league."

I can remember being at a college party and literally saying to a friend, "I'm going to go talk to THAT hot girl....if Ric Ocasek can do it, I can too." Between my friends and I that because our mantra to meet girls. If Ric Ocasek has that kind of confidence, we could too. Now, to be fair he was also a huge star and had a cool factor that my friends and I would never have.

Without that confidence from our hero, Ric Ocasek I wouldn't have met my wife...believe me she was, and still is, WAY outta my league.

So, thank you Ric Osacek. Not only for the music that became part of my life's soundtrack, but also being an inspiration to us ugly guys everywhere.