Top 10 Sports Superstitions

[Brown Eyed Girl 1]

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Sports are a competitive business, and athletes face a tremendous amount of pressure to always be at their best. Sometimes it’s not enough to just practice and train for hours on end, as players also need to have a mental edge, which often manifests in some strange and nonsensical behaviors and beliefs. Maybe performing the following rituals don’t make an athlete play better, but not adhering to them will certainly make them worse, if only in their own mind.

 

Number 10

The Madden curse

In the days before Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox, there was the Sports Illustrated cover jinx, in which athletes and teams that graced the magazine’s cover were doomed to fail immediately thereafter. But times have changed, and now that curse has been replaced by the EA Sports video game franchise, specifically Madden NFL. According to legend, the player on the cover of a Madden NFL game is doomed to suffer a significant injury or perform horribly that very season.

Prime example: Take your pick. Since 1999, every Madden NFL cover boy has been hurt or performed poorly the season of his appearance. Names on that list include Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Ray Lewis, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, and Shaun Alexander.

 

Number 9

Watch your step

In ancient Rome, gladiators were careful to put their dominant foot forward when entering the arena, a practice that, some say, gave us the expression “put your best foot forward.” Since then, athletes in all sports have been tap dancing their way in and around their respective playing surfaces. Whether it’s a rodeo cowboy saddling up with his right foot first or tennis players avoiding stepping on court lines while changing sides, the world’s top athletes have seemingly failed to outgrow their obsession with not stepping on sidewalk cracks.

Prime example: Like many superstitions, the best example can be found on the baseball diamond, where players make sure to avoid stepping on the baselines when entering and exiting the field of play. Probably the most prolific baseball player to adhere to this practice is legendary pitcher Christy Mathewson, who is credited with with saying that a jinx can “make a bad pitcher out of a good one and a blind batter out of a 300 hitter.” Mathewson’s superstitions help earn him 373 career wins and a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

Number 8

The silent treatment

Of all the athletes in all the sports in the world, the weirdest and most ritualistic would have to be baseball pitchers and hockey goaltenders. Both have highly specialized roles on their teams and are thus highly isolated, so give them a break for being a bit flaky. In fact, isolation serves them well: If a pitcher is throwing a no-hitter or a goalie is working on a shut out, the unwritten rule book decrees that you don’t say it, don’t even think about it, and don’t go anywhere near the player working on perfection. Just stay out of his way and be ready to hoist him in the air if all goes well.

Prime example: Every time a pitcher throws a no-hitter or perfect game, you can be sure to see his teammates tripping over one another trying to steer clear of him in the dugout. Nolan Ryan threw the most no-hitters (seven) and Henrik Lundqvist logged a record six shut outs in a season -- no one talked to them.

 

Number 7

Going batty

There are all sorts of wacky superstitions related to the protection and pampering of baseball bats. Players can often be found touching their bat with various good luck charms, spitting in their hand before picking up their bat or even sleeping with their bats. And for heaven’s sake, don’t even think about touching another player’s bat.

Prime example: Cliff Johnson, MLB record holder for most career pinch-hit home runs, used to grab any bat he could find and use it. Perhaps in doing so, he affected his teammates’ hitting performances so adversely that it necessitated his pinch-hitting for them when it mattered most.

 

Number 6

Playoff beards

Originally a hockey tradition, but since adopted by other sports, the theory holds that a team must put off shaving while still in the playoffs. This promotes a warrior mentality and single-minded focus with which even basic hygiene cannot interfere.

Prime example: Tennis great Bjorn Borg used to grow a beard prior to the Wimbledon tournament, which he won five consecutive times from 1976 to 1980. Sports Illustrated once had a cover story previewing the tournament and placed Borg on the cover with the caption, “The beard has begun.”

 

Number 5

Superstar style guide

Individual athletes of course have their own superstitions -- even some of the best athletes we’ve ever seen. Hockey great Wayne Gretzky tucked one side of his jersey into his pants, NBA legend Michael Jordan wore his UNC basketball shorts underneath his actual uniform, and golfer Tiger Woods always wears red on Sunday.

Prime example: Gretzky is of course the owner of the NHL record book, as well as four Stanley Cup rings. Jordan hit the winning shot in the 1982 NCAA championship game while at UNC, and continued to hit winning shots throughout his NBA career. Tiger is nearly perfect on Sundays when he enters the day leading the tournament. If these guys say that their superstitions work for them, who are we to disagree?

 

Number 4

The smell of success

When athletes are in the midst of a hot streak, they will do anything to keep that momentum going. They insist on doing the exact same things day after day and refuse to change anything, even their underwear. Many pro bowlers insist on wearing only one outfit throughout a tournament, no matter how many days or how many matches it may span. It’s disgusting, but for a lot of athletes, the same shirt or pair of socks must be worn each game while remaining unwashed. To these competitors, laundry is losing.

Prime example: Luckily, the reverse can be true as well. Minnie Minoso once blamed his uniform after going hitless in a game for the White Sox. As a result he showered with the uniform on following the game, and the next day he had three hits and was joined by the rest of his teammates fully clothed in the post-game shower.

 

Number 3

Numbers don’t lie

We have all grown up with the idea that certain numbers have mystical powers, as seen in the seven dwarfs and the three little pigs. So it stands to reason that numbers would have superstitious significance in the world of sports. And they do. Double numbers are said to be lucky, changing numbers when changing teams is said to be unlucky, and of course, the number 13 is to be avoided like the plague.

Prime example: Randy Moss’ play has suffered since he joined the Oakland Raiders and switched to 18 from the 84 he wore with the Vikings. Dan Marino put up some gaudy numbers while wearing 13, and has the number zero to represent his Super Bowl victories. Alex Rodriguez broke two rules when he joined the Yankees; he switched his number from 3 to 13 and he has been snakebitten in the playoffs with the number 13 draped across his back.

 

Number 2

Idol worship

Athletes have been known to deify the most arbitrary people and things they can find, projecting special powers and beliefs on these hapless objects. Hockey teams smack their goalie’s pads with their sticks before a game, college football teams punch their school logo on the way out of the tunnel, and the Atlanta Braves molested injured catcher Gregg Olson’s leg cast during the 1992 World Series.

Prime example: In 2004, Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez met 1.75 foot tall Nelson De La Rosa, who is believed to be the world’s shortest actor and who appeared alongside Marlon Brando in The Island of Dr. Moreau. For whatever reason, De La Rosa became a fixture for the Red Sox during their run to the 2004 World Series.

 

Number 1

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Players form habits and routines that they repeat endlessly when playing, such as Nomar Garciaparra’s batting glove adjustments between pitches or basketball players’ patterns when at the free-throw line. Skill development is all about repetition, and such a repetitive nature seeps into an athlete’s confidence as much as it does his muscle memory.

Prime example: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is nothing to take lightly, but its symptoms do seem to parallel the habits of some professional athletes. English soccer star David Beckham has trouble leaving a soccer pitch without practicing his free kicks for hours on end, and the world’s best dead-ball striker has actually been diagnosed with OCD.

 

 

Superstitious Jocks

Maybe professional athletes are a bit nutty because of the beliefs they hold and the superstitions they observe. But if sticking to these rituals allows them to focus and feel more in control, I say wear your underwear on your head. Fans are often as superstitious -- if not more -- than the athletes: Think about all those times you sat in the same seat or wore your lucky shirt while watching the game. Let’s face it: Sports can drive us absolutely crazy, and sometimes the only way to remain sane is to believe in the weirdest of the weird.

[TommyGavin 790]

SI jinx ?

 

and the Islanders of the early 80's are credited withthe playoff beard thingy.

[Yer mom 2]

What about Pedro Serranos sacrificing of chickens before a game?

[sawilson 1]

Link

 

Sports are a competitive business, and athletes face a tremendous amount of pressure to always be at their best. Sometimes it’s not enough to just practice and train for hours on end, as players also need to have a mental edge, which often manifests in some strange and nonsensical behaviors and beliefs. Maybe performing the following rituals don’t make an athlete play better, but not adhering to them will certainly make them worse, if only in their own mind.

 

Number 10

The Madden curse

In the days before Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox, there was the Sports Illustrated cover jinx, in which athletes and teams that graced the magazine’s cover were doomed to fail immediately thereafter. But times have changed, and now that curse has been replaced by the EA Sports video game franchise, specifically Madden NFL. According to legend, the player on the cover of a Madden NFL game is doomed to suffer a significant injury or perform horribly that very season.

Prime example: Take your pick. Since 1999, every Madden NFL cover boy has been hurt or performed poorly the season of his appearance. Names on that list include Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Ray Lewis, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, and Shaun Alexander.

 

As soon as Alexander was put on that, I was like "fock, he's focked next year"

[Cdub100 3,879]

Not touching the foul line while running off or on the field

 

Sparky Anderson would hop over the line

[BMoney 0]

SI jinx ?

 

and the Islanders of the early 80's are credited withthe playoff beard thingy.

 

 

the only bad thing about hockey playoffs...a tradition shared by players who dont even make the finals...

 

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[Idol worship

, and the Atlanta Braves molested injured catcher Gregg Olson during the 1992 World Series.

 

[remote controller 143]

Sparky Anderson #9

[DBZFan2K 0]

You never, ever, EVER make mention of a perfect game while it's happening.

 

The taboo that is almost always done during broadcasts, seemingly on purpose, is the graphic that shows that a player has a running streak of making consecutive free throws or field goals, with that player missing immediately after.