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Superstition is the way, at least according to our old pal, Stevie Wonder. Why do I find myself, at 52, STILL clinging to superstitions when it comes to the Washington Redskins?
We all know how superstitious professional athletes are. Many believe that performing a specific ritual before competition improves their performance. These rituals range from the clothes they wear to the foods they eat or drink; the warm up they perform or even the music they listen to.
Superstition is usually developed in hindsight, most often by accident, and then required in future events. A superstition arises when an athlete has a particularly good (or bad) performance and then tries to establish "cause and effect" by reviewing the facts of the day. They will notice things like what they ate or wore and they'll notice anything unusual that happened such as getting a haircut, receiving a gift or hearing a certain song. If they have a great performance they attribute their success to that unusual circumstance and attempt to recreate it before every competition.
Perhaps the real value in superstition and ritual is the boost of confidence and the sense of control that they provide an athlete. If you believe that doing a specific action or behavior will make you perform better, then you probably will perform better. This is the foundation of sports psychology.
It’s this sense of control, I believe, that drives fans to their own Game Day superstitions. Growing up, I would sit in the same chair while watching games or wear my “lucky” number 9 jersey. If they were doing well while my legs were crossed, they stayed crossed as they fell asleep and suffered the hundreds of pinpricks the sensation always brings. After all, what are a few hundred pinpricks if it helps my team?
As I got older and took over the season tickets from my father, what we wore, especially when it came to our lucky hats, jerseys, socks, shoes and yes, even lucky underwear, were necessary in order to help lead our team to victory. We would meet at the home of my niece and her husband and drink coffee, chocolate milk (great for recovering from Saturday night hangovers) and eat breakfast squares my niece had made. Okay, it was really a great big quiche but real men didn't eat quiche back then.
We always took the same exact route to RFK Stadium and we all had our assigned seats and didn’t dare switch and risk giving the Skins bad karma, juju or whatever you want to call it.
Our superstitions really took hold during Joe Gibbs’ first tenure. We were winning and most of us believed we were actually helping the team. This feeling was exacerbated by Joe Gibbs himself, telling us fans how important we were to the team. This REALLY made it okay for fans to refer to the Washington Redskins as “we”. We were now part of the team. Joe Gibbs said so.
This morning as I was stirring my coffee 46 times (it was 26 when Clinton Portis was still starting), I found myself thinking about superstitions and why I still go through these gyrations throughout the week and on Game Day. I guess even old guys like me still want to believe in Karmic justice and that, when all is right with the universe, we can still make a difference. All hasn’t been right with the universe for many, many years but I get the feeling we’re getting closer and closer each week.
Anyone else out there superstitious?
We all know how superstitious professional athletes are. Many believe that performing a specific ritual before competition improves their performance. These rituals range from the clothes they wear to the foods they eat or drink; the warm up they perform or even the music they listen to.
Superstition is usually developed in hindsight, most often by accident, and then required in future events. A superstition arises when an athlete has a particularly good (or bad) performance and then tries to establish "cause and effect" by reviewing the facts of the day. They will notice things like what they ate or wore and they'll notice anything unusual that happened such as getting a haircut, receiving a gift or hearing a certain song. If they have a great performance they attribute their success to that unusual circumstance and attempt to recreate it before every competition.
Perhaps the real value in superstition and ritual is the boost of confidence and the sense of control that they provide an athlete. If you believe that doing a specific action or behavior will make you perform better, then you probably will perform better. This is the foundation of sports psychology.
It’s this sense of control, I believe, that drives fans to their own Game Day superstitions. Growing up, I would sit in the same chair while watching games or wear my “lucky” number 9 jersey. If they were doing well while my legs were crossed, they stayed crossed as they fell asleep and suffered the hundreds of pinpricks the sensation always brings. After all, what are a few hundred pinpricks if it helps my team?
As I got older and took over the season tickets from my father, what we wore, especially when it came to our lucky hats, jerseys, socks, shoes and yes, even lucky underwear, were necessary in order to help lead our team to victory. We would meet at the home of my niece and her husband and drink coffee, chocolate milk (great for recovering from Saturday night hangovers) and eat breakfast squares my niece had made. Okay, it was really a great big quiche but real men didn't eat quiche back then.
We always took the same exact route to RFK Stadium and we all had our assigned seats and didn’t dare switch and risk giving the Skins bad karma, juju or whatever you want to call it.Our superstitions really took hold during Joe Gibbs’ first tenure. We were winning and most of us believed we were actually helping the team. This feeling was exacerbated by Joe Gibbs himself, telling us fans how important we were to the team. This REALLY made it okay for fans to refer to the Washington Redskins as “we”. We were now part of the team. Joe Gibbs said so.
This morning as I was stirring my coffee 46 times (it was 26 when Clinton Portis was still starting), I found myself thinking about superstitions and why I still go through these gyrations throughout the week and on Game Day. I guess even old guys like me still want to believe in Karmic justice and that, when all is right with the universe, we can still make a difference. All hasn’t been right with the universe for many, many years but I get the feeling we’re getting closer and closer each week.
Anyone else out there superstitious?
