Superstitious? Quirks and Rituals of Sports Athletes

What the hell is that guy doing? A little OCD, maybe? Is he off his meds? Nah, relax. He's okay. It's just a little pre-game ritual.

To the uninitiated, some of the actions athletes perform both on and off the field, before and after competition- may seem a little strange. And even to some folks who did play sports for years, some of the more intricate routines truly must be described as bizarre. But, in any event, it does liven up the commentary sometimes. To paraphrase the movie Bull Durham, if you have soap scum on your shower shoes and you're a rookie, then you're a slob. If you have soap scum on them and you're a superstar, why then you're considered colorful! It's a fine line.

One of the most universal sport superstitions is the fear of wearing the #13. Anyone I have ever known in sport would avoid this number at all costs. Wouldn't even consider wearing it. Would rather swim in a jersey ten sizes too big (maybe #78) or split the seams out of a uniform we couldn't have fit into as a toddler (maybe #2). This is especially true in little leagues and even in high school, where the number on each uniform correlates to it's size. The bigger you are, you could count on getting double digits. No one wants 13. It's almost like how there is no 13th floor on many elevators, or no row 13 on airliners. In which case, talk to row 14, that's really 13!

So why such disdain for #13? Certainly is won't effect your performance, will it? If you think it will, then it will, and thus you must avoid it like the plague. Notable exceptions to this have been Hall of Famers Dan Marino in football, and Wilt Chamberlain in basketball. Dan the Man never did win a superbowl, and is now hawking yummy diet food on TV, but Wilt won may championships, and his dating success speaks for itself. So, there are a few souls that squeak between the lines.

Baseball players have always been well known to be wizards of using performance enhancing dru... I mean rituals! Why baseball is at forefront may be because of the many breaks in the action, during which players on both offense and defense can be seen doing their preparatory dances in nearly perfect synchronized.

The most noticeable quirky action baseball players routinely perform are usually those done near the batters box. A player may take a certain number of practice swings both before and during an at-bat between pitches, never taking even one more or less than than self-prescribed for success. They may spit in their hands, draw shapes in the dirt with their bat, chant a mini mantra, blow bubbles with their gum- it really is almost endless. Some folks even notice a distinct pattern of crotch adjustment, but that isn't something I tend notice myself.

The pitcher also usually follows a premeditated routine. Some common practices are: walking around the mound in the same direction every time, blowing on their hands X number of times, kicking the pitching rubber a set number of times, drawing figures with their cleats, maybe even talking to the ball. At the same time, behind the pitcher, most infielders will swirl dirt around in specific motions with their feet, while outfielders pick grass- and everybody, and I mean everybody- spits. And no one, I repeat- NO ONE ever steps on the foul lines. Breaking that unwritten rule is just begging for failure. It is a baseball fact.

Hockey is another sport in which talking to the equipment can greatly aid a player. Normally it is done by the goalie, who will strike up a conversation with the goalposts. After an initial icebreaker (usually a joke) the goalies warms up to the posts by setting them at ease, letting them know how safe they are, and no puck will hurt them. And he'll even walk them home after the game, after a quick stop at the malt shop with Richie, Potsy, and the Fonz.

Basketball players may be as full of it as the rest of other sports athletes, but because basketball players have less idle time during games, their superstitious routines are rarely noticed by the casual fan. The one exception to this is when a player is on the foul line, shooting free throws. Much like the hitter in baseball taking practice swings, the shooter will normally dribble the ball a certain number of times, hold it at chest level for a second or two, and then shoot. The number of dribbles before the shot can vary wildly from player to player, but there is always a method to their (March) madness.

Every sport can have it's own set of unique superstitious behavior and this is due in part to the sport itself, the history of the sport, as well as each individual who participates in that sport. Some universal practices that cross over into many different sports are: not washing a favorite piece of clothing while on a winning streak, eating the same pre-game meal religiously, not shaving during a hot streak or playoff run, putting on clothing in the exact same manner every day, and altering that order if a slump arises.

Some individual practices include: Tiger Woods always wearing red shirts on Sunday, a former Cubs pitchers who brushed his teeth in the dugout between innings, former pitcher Mark Fidrych having quite lively discussions with the baseball behind the pitcher's mound, and Hall of Famer third baseman Wade Boggs' refusal to have anything other than chicken as his good luck pre-game meal.

So, what's the deal? Why do they bother to do all of these silly things? Well, they're not really silly if you think they might help your performance. And most athletes know that the actual quirk itself doesn't help them, but rather the fact that they perform them so often that the actions give them a sense of relaxation. It helps ease their minds because they know they've prepared for their parts of the game, no matter how odd the preparation itself is! Once a routine is finished, then the brain shuts down and all the practice and training take over. So in reality, superstitions have a calming effect that some players simply must have. An incomplete routine disturbs the natural balance of all that is right in the sports world. Can't have that can we?

And it just doesn't pay to be dull. What kind of endorsements would Mr./Ms. Overpaid Athlete get if they were invisible? Would you rather see Big Poppy spitting into his hands and slamming them together exactly the same way every at bat, or Nomar Garciapara reworking his batting gloves a mind-numbingly absurd amount of times after every single pitch, or see them on Dr. Phil trying to resolve some obsessive compulsive issues that they just can't shake? It's a no-brainer. Superstar of not, we all wanna be colorful, and even Dr. Phil endorses milk, got it?