The Role of Superstition in Sports

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The Role of Superstition in Sports

by: Nite Owl Sports

Seeing as today is Friday the 13th, it seemed that an article on the role of superstition in sports would be appropriate for today's Top Ten NL, so I answered the bell. Having grown up in the Northeast during the late 1950s and early-mid 1960s, I don't remember much about sports superstitions except the following:

1. Speculation about whether or not Celtics Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach was lighting his famed "victory cigar" prematurely during the fourth quarter of key games, and having no clue at the time that "lighting up" anywhere in a basketball arena would become a major "no no" later in the century, and that doing so on the team bench would become unthinkable.

2. I remember Mel Allen and Red Barber broadcasting game 6 of the Yankees-Dodgers World series in which Don Larsen threw a perfect game, and not saying a word about Larsen carrying his "gem" into the 8th inning, at which point I asked my dad "Doesn't Larsen have a no hitter?" (and in response I almost got my head bitten off, and was then reminded that it was considered bad luck to mention anything about a pitcher having a no hitter, especially in the late innings, until either the game was over or until the no hitter was "broken" ).

3. I also remember being on my hands and knees during the overtime of the classic 1957 Baltimore Colts- NY Giants NFL Championship Game, praying that the "G-Men" would somehow stop Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry and Alan "the horse" Ameche, but as any sports fan knows, that prayer was not answered (and I remember later wondering if the Colts were really that good, that even God couldn't stop them, or maybe that God was not all he was "cracked up" to be).

4. And the other thing I remember from those early years about good and bad luck in sports, in the form of a lucky number, was how all the kids on every Little League team would fight every year over who got to wear Mickey Mantle's #7, to the point that our local Little league was forced to take extreme measures in that regard, one year banning that number on any league uniforms, and another year forcing teams to have their players pick their uniform numbers out of a hat.

5. Since I was not from Chicago, and the Cubs were so bad while I was growing up that they never got close enough to have a realistic chance of winning the NL pennant, I never heard of the famed "billy goat curse" until many years later.

But my first real exposure to superstition in sports came on New Year's night, 1969, when Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions (my father's alma mater) took on Pepper Rodgers' Kansas Jayhawks in the Orange Bowl, the first time that State had been to a major bowl since their trip to the Cotton Bowl in 1947 to play Doak Walker and the SMU Mustangs, which had ended up in an unsatisfying 13-13 tie for both teams. And although Paterno had taken over as Penn State head coach in about 1963 or 1964, after serving as an assistant coach there under former head coach Rip Engle, that 1969 Orange Bowl game marked the true beginning of the "Joe Paterno era" at Penn State, during which Joe Pa's teams had countless Top Ten finishes, two undisputed national titles, and two or three more that Joe felt were taken away from them by biased pollsters, and even once the following year (the 1969 season) by former President Nixon. But I digress. The stage was set for our family to watch this game in our living room, on the new color TV that my father had bought for the occasion, although he claimed that it was a "Christmas present for the entire family." And my mother, God rest her soul, had bought a brand new outfit just for the game, in Penn State blue and white. But unwittingly, she had failed to realize that she had committed a "cardinal sin," for the outfit included red trim, and as most sports fans know (but my Mom didn't, not being much of a sports fan), blue, white and red are Kansas colors. So when my mother entered the living room just before kickoff, expecting to be showered with "oohs and aahs," and compliments about her sharp new outfit, she was unceremoniously ordered out of the living room by my dad, who gave no explanation other than that we couldn't take any chance on her bringing "bad luck" to his beloved Nittany Lions. So my mother, crushed, compliantly skulked out of the living room, as wives typically did in such situations in those "pre-women's lib" days, and I sat there mortified, as I had made the big mistake of bringing my then fiancé home to "meet the family" that day, and I knew what she was thinking - what a bunch of "head cases." She surprisingly did not break off our engagement the next day, although maybe she should have, because after > 25 years of marriage, we ended up divorced, primarily because of my obsession with sports (can't say she wasn't warned). But again, I digress. So the game kicked off without Mom, and with my fiancé sitting there in "neutral colors" and in shock, and it proceeded to be pretty much of a see-saw game, with Kansas breaking out to an early 7-0 lead, only to be tied by Penn State just before the half, and then go back on top, 14-7, which is where it looked like it would end up, until State mounted their final, desperation drive, in the game's waning minutes, which culminated in a touchdown in the final seconds. So the next question was whether Paterno would kick the PAT and settle for a tie (there were no overtimes in college FB in those days) or roll the dice and go for the win, knowing that the chances of not making it and losing the game were about 2/1. But anyone who was at all familiar with Paterno knew there would be no tie - after all, Paterno almost submarined his own coaching career by going for it from his own 15 yard line on a fourth quarter fourth and one in the Gator Bowl against Florida State (pre-Bobby Bowden) a few years prior, and did not make it, which totally changed the momentum of the game and turned a late 17-0 Penn State lead into an ultimate 17-17 tie. And in response to criticism from his detractors, Paterno simply said "bowl games are supposed to be fun." So we were not expecting to see the kicking team come out for the conversion attempt, and they didn't - but our excitement and enthusiasm was short lived, as State's ill-conceived roll out pass play failed miserably, and the Kansas rooting section went wild, while my dad was swearing under his breath and trying not to explode. But wait - there was a penalty flag, as one of the officials had had the presence of mind to count the # of Kansas defenders on the field when he saw what looked like one too many, and he was right. So the "Nitts" had been granted a "stay of execution" and had another shot, this time from half the distance - I can still remember my father yelling, just before the snap for the successful second attempt, "just do a half back blast left, for Christ's sake," and that's exactly what they did, straight into the end zone for the win, as now the Penn State section on the other side of the field erupted, as did our living room, with my father, brother and I jumping up and down, dancing and hugging each other, and doing all the "male bonding" things that guys do after an uplifting win like that. And then I looked over at my fiancé, who sat there shaking her head, but at least with a smile on her face, not a look of absolute horror. And afterwards, my dad claimed some credit for the win, because after all, he was the one who had kept my mother and her "bad luck Kansas colors" out of the living room. And I'm sure he believed, until the day he died, that he had had a "hand' in that alert official making that crucial delay of game penalty against Kansas that gave Penn State new life and another chance to win.

So what about some other (non-family) anecdotes about sports superstitions, and attempts by teams and their fans to obtain good luck for their team and to "foist" bad luck on their upcoming opponent(s)? Following are some general superstitions, separated by sport, as well as some "player specific" superstitions, but first a mention of some superstitions that transcend all sports, especially to keep "hot streaks" alive, like "lucky socks" (not changing one's socks until the team loses), which is especially unpopular with wives and girlfriends of players and coaches, not shaving until the team loses ( a close second to "lucky socks' on the unpopularity poll), all players getting their heads shaved (as a symbol of team unity), and the like.

Here are some "player specific" superstitions:

1. Michael Jordan (a graduate of North Carolina) always wore his blue North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform for good luck.

2. Former major league reliever Turk Wendell (first Cubs, later Mets) would brush his teeth and chew licorice in the dugout between innings (at least he probably smelled good, although if I recall correctly, that was not always the case with his pitching).

3. Former Red Sox and Yankee third baseman, Wade Boggs, would eat only chicken the day of a game, and used to draw a symbol that means "To Life" in the dirt before every at-bat. He also refused to allow his wife to accompany him on team road trips (but as we found out later, that was not for superstitious reasons).

4. Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych used to play with the dirt on the mound and talk to himself and the ball before he pitched, as did St Louis reliever Al the "mad Hungarian" Hrabosky.

5. Former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra (most recently with Oakland) still gets dressed the same way every day, makes sure to step on each dugout step with both feet, and tugs at his batting gloves and taps his toes (the same # of taps) during each at-bat.

And here are some general superstitions, separated by sport:

Baseball

Spitting into your hand before picking up the bat is said to bring good luck.
A wad of gum stuck on a player's hat brings good luck.
It is bad luck if a dog walks across the diamond before the first pitch.
Some players believe it is good luck to step on one of the bases before running off the field at the end of an inning.
It is bad luck to touch the baselines while running off and onto the field between innings.
Lending a bat to a fellow player is a serious jinx.
Some players actually sleep with their bat to break out of a hitting slump or stay on a "hot streak" at the plate.
If a pitcher is throwing a perfect game or a no-hitter, never speak of it while it's going on (see above personal anecdote re perfect game by NY's Don Larsen's in 1956 World Series).

Basketball

The last person to shoot a basket during the warm-up will have a good game.
Wipe the soles of your sneakers for good luck.
Bounce the ball a certain # of times (favorite #s for that seem to be 3, 4 and 5), for good luck, before taking a foul shot..

Ice Hockey

It is bad luck for hockey sticks to lie crossed.
Players believe they'll win the game if they tap the goalie on his shin pads before a game.
Many NHL players put their pads and skates on in exactly the same order every day.

Football

Double numbers on a player's uniform supposedly brings good luck.
It's bad luck for a professional football player to take a new number when he is traded to another team (I assume the same superstition applies to free agent signings).
A mascot is an important good luck symbol.

And the mention of team mascots reminds me of my final topic, that of mascots (actually, "mascot abuse") and related pranks.

1. The first involved an early season visit by Emory Vallard's Miss State Bulldogs to the State of Texas, to play the Texas Longhorns in Austin. And the day before the game, some Bulldog "boosters" reportedly stole Bevo, the Texas mascot, a longhorn steer, and took him to a local slaughterhouse, which unknowingly prepared him for the Miss State FB team's dinner the night before the game, and the Texas Longhorns, ranked in the pre-season top 10, were so despondent about Bevo's fate that they were ineffective the next day and were soundly beaten by their guests - good bye, Bevo, good bye, top ten ranking.

2. Another involved an ill-fated attempt by Univ of Utah "boosters" to "kidnap" the BYU mascot, a full grown cougar (mountain lion), which ended up in the emergency room in a Provo, Utah hospital, as the cougar capably defended his turf and then got some retribution for the annoyance - I don't recall who won the game that weekend, but I do recall hearing that the numbskulls from Univ of Utah involved in that prank were suspended, and none of them ever graduated. And we hear the cougar got a "raise" from BYU for the next season.

3. Finally, the time many years ago that a bunch of zealots from the Univ of Wyoming invaded Ft Collins, Colo and kidnapped the Colo State Ram mascot, only to return him a few hours later with the bulk of his horns having been sawed off (now that's what I call "having your horns clipped") - and we hope that was the extent to which the ram's masculinity was "compromised" by the incident. BTW, Wyoming won the game that Saturday, with the Colo State players feeling powerless, looking at their partially "neutered" male mascot.

4. And finally, there are "scads" of stories about fans or "boosters" from one school stealing a symbol of victory in a rivalry with another college, especially when their team has not won that rivalry game for several years. And that reminds me of the stealing of the "Axe," the symbol of victory in the Stanford-Cal rivalry, during my freshman year at Stanford, after a string of cal victories over the Stanford Indians, as we were called before the university abandoned that nickname in order to avoid getting "busted' by the "PC Police." In any event, at the pre-game pep rally the night before the game, Stanford head coach John Ralston urged Stanford students and fans to refrain from trying to steal the well protected axe from its "lodgings' in Berkeley, because his team was going to win it back for us that Saturday on the FB field. Obviously, there were more than a few skeptics, as the axe showed up in the Stanford Student union the next day. And BTW, Stanford did win the game, a hard-fought, rain -soaked, 13-7 win, and one which would serve as a foundation for later Stanford teams to build on, such as the 1970 and 1971 teams that the "Cardinal" sent to Rose Bowl.

There are obviously many more mascot stories, and every fan has their favorite one(s), depending on where they went to school. And the same is undoubtedly true about sports superstition stories.

So how do we feel about releasing picks on Friday the 13th? Actually, it doesn't bother us, as I've been doing sports capping and betting on sports long enough to know that although some days I'll be lucky, and some days unlucky, which one it is relates more to putting myself and our subscribers in positions where we are likely to be lucky and not likely to be unlucky, by solid and thorough sports handicapping. But sometimes even that's not enough, like a few weeks ago where we had Minny and 6.5 points against Pitt, and Minny, while trailing by 3, appeared to be headed for the go ahead score midway through the fourth quarter, when they made a first down on the Pitt 5 yard line. But the "zebras" saw it differently, and called "tripping" on a Minny offensive lineman (a call which replays showed was totally bogus), which negated the first down run and moved the ball back ten yards, to instead make it third and about 15. Favre then got hit in the pocket on the next play when he got "blind-sided," and Pitt not only recovered but ran the ball in for a 77 yard TD. So instead of having a late 17-13 lead, Vikes were down late, 10-20, a deficit from which they were unable to recover, not even enough to cover ATS with their 6.5 points. And I mention this not to "vent' about a frustrating loss, but rather to emphasize that sometimes in this "business' of sports capping and sports betting, you get the breaks, and other days you don't, even though you have done just as good a job handicapping the game(s). And that's why we advise our subscribers to never bet more than they can afford to lose (not because we expect to lose, but rather because there are no "sure things" in sports betting, just like in life).

And while we admittedly are somewhat relieved that the bulk of this week's college FB games are being played on Saturday the 14th rather than Friday the 13th, and we already have several CFB picks posted for Sat, including our CFB Beat Down Game of the Month (see BPA below for same), we do have a "double play" (ATS and a 1H play) for FIVE UNITS on the MAC game tonite between Temple and Akron, and expect to have 3-6 NBA picks tonite as well. And note that these weekday ESPN CFB games have been cash cows for us, especially in the MAC, with four straight wins on them -- most recently this week with wins on Bowling Green and Central Mich, and a with a double winner (ATS, ML) on Ohio over Buffalo Tues night for +5 units, and LW a 6 unit MAC double winner (ATS, ML) on Bowling Green over Buffalo. Our strong full game pick is yours for just $29. But why not get both of our picks and our full betting attack strategy for this game for just $39 with a One Day CFB Pass? Or better yet, add our NBA picks tonite for just $20 more with a $59 One Day All Sports Pass. We hope you give us a chance to show what we can do for you with one of our WE packages, but whatever you decide, enjoy the games and bet smart (and we hope you enjoyed our article)

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