UP athletes showcase some peculiar superstitions
By Andy Matarrese
Superstition abounds among athletes. Michael Jordan had lucky shorts he wore every game. Roger Clemens put Icy Hot in his jock so he wouldn't get too comfortable on the mound.
Everything has to be just right; every pre-game ritual has to be done properly. Play any sport long enough, odds are you'll acquire some nervous habit or strange superstition that you can't shake. Almost everyone who has ever played has one.
A lot of those weird rituals and superstitions have good stories, too.
Sophomore basketball player Kendra Morris made a habit of praying before every free throw after getting into a spat with her father. When the game went into sudden-death overtime and it came down to her, she prayed, promising that she would be nice to her dad if she made the shot.
Morris made the shot, winning the game and spawning a ritual that has persisted since she was 9 years old.
It's difficult to explain the reasoning behind any of it, Morris said.
"I mean, if I don't pray at the free throw line, I'm going to miss," she said.
Odd habits crop up in multiple sports, as freshman cross country runner Damon Austin attests.
"I always ate Cream of Wheat for breakfast before a meet," he said of his older pre-race habits. Austin explained that his routine had to follow the correct pattern.
He'd start hydrating at a specific time before racing, not eat for three hours before and begin warming up at a set time. While also practical, Austin said the order and timing kept him in the right mindset.
Some rituals are more like traditions.
Morris plays in black socks in part for good luck, but also to keep up an old custom.
The black socks habit came from watching a P. Diddy music video with a friend.
"That was our favorite song, and in the video he was wearing black socks and Chucks," she said. Morris and her friend decided to don similar hosiery when they played basketball, and Morris has continued the tradition into her college career.
Freshman baseball player Riley Henricks enjoys partaking in a specific type of gum when he plays: Bubblicious' Lebrons' Lightning Lemonade.
Henricks and his friends would go to the batting cages before games and then go buy gum for the game.
"I always have it on me," he said. "I need to find a place around here that sells it. It can be hard to find."
Henricks isn't very superstitious, but can see how all the downtime during ball games can spawn some strange theories.
"You come up with some weird stuff in the dugouts," he said.
But why all the fuss?
Psychology professor Susan Baillet offered a few explanations.
"If they do it once and something works out, an association is created," she said. Athletes, like Pavlov's dog, might associate a (most likely) unrelated action with victory or a positive performance, reinforcing the behavior or action.
Focusing on little things like dressing order or not stepping on foul lines may help them calm down, as well.
"It gives the mind something to do, so you're not worried," she said, and it can take an athlete's mind off the possibility of failure.
"It's not hurting anything," Baillet said. "So if it makes them feel better, it's not really a problem - it's just illogical."
Coaches have some of the most extensive experience in weird locker room antics.
"I'm a very superstitious person," Men's Soccer Head Coach Bill Irwin said. Irwin played professionally for nearly 20 years, developing and seeing his share of pre-game compulsions.
Irwin said he needed to get dressed in the same order before each game and would have to be the third or fourth one on his team to walk out onto the field to be comfortable.
Assistant Men's Soccer Coach Rob Baarts would not step on any field lines during his warm up, would not shave on game day and ate the same meal - teriyaki chicken - before each game.
"A goalkeeper," said Baarts, recounting one teammate's bizarre habits, "would listen to Kid Rock in the shower, butt naked, before he would get himself ready."
Women's basketball Head Coach Jim Sollars recalled a time when he was in high school and the football team decided that it needed some alternative motivation.
"The high school team decided they wouldn't wash their jocks until they won their first game," he said.
All the coaches echoed the sentiment regarding the potential positive impact of ritualistic pre-game activities. If something seemed to work once, why mess with it?
"The mind is a wonderful thing. If your mind is right, it sets the tone," Irwin said, adding, "Sometimes I think it's the biggest load of nonsense out there."
Members of the women's soccer team have been known to rock out to a Michael Jackson mix tape before games. They've won two national championships and went 18-4 last season.
Go with what works, I guess.
