But on many mornings, Mr. Alvarado, 25, a restaurant worker in Los Angeles, plops a Bass Pro Shops trucker hat on his head. The mesh-backed cap flashes the name and open-mouthed fish logo of the ...

The group will fish in Great South Bay out of West Islip, and all these fishermen will be vying for the big prize, a striped bass hat made by the matriarch of the family, 83-years-young Jane Winter.

Yet here we are — Bass Pro Shops mesh trucker hats in every color under the rainbow are somehow center stage in American popular culture. If you are confused by that, I really don’t blame you.