Sports Superstitions – do they work?
This seems like the perfect time to talk about sports superstitions. If you’re a baseball fan, you’ve seen them, the ritualistic taps, pats, tugs and steps that the players do before batting. I love the quote that’s become so popular this year; “it’s only weird if it doesn’t work”!
Since I’m not a die-hard sports fan, I do tend to watch the little details going on on the playing field and I don’t always know what team I’m watching. I do know what sport, however. So there is a baseball player who, after every pitch, steps away from home plate and readjusts his batting gloves. The things look like they fit like second skin, I don’t imagine they shift with every swing of the bat, but he pulls the Velcro closure open, re-sticks it, claps his hands together, picks up his bat, and steps back into his stance. I don’t know his name but his ritual is fascinating and it’s something in this crazy ever-changing world you can rely on.
Now, after reading an article about sport superstitions online (http://www.askmen.com/top_10/fitness_top_ten_60/99_fitness_list.html) I have a better understanding as to why athletes do this. It keeps them focused and it’s all a part of the series of motions their muscles have memorized. To make a change in the sequence or, heaven forbid, leave out a step, would throw their whole balance off. So, no problem if they need to tug their cap, tap their shoes, and spit on their gloves before stepping up to bat. What I would like to know is does this carry over to their fans? Does it really matter to a game that’s being played hundreds of miles away if a fan leaves the chair he/she was sitting in when the grand slam was hit? According to the sports-watching rules in my house, the answer is a resounding YES!
So, before a game on TV begins in our house, it’s in your best interest to pick the most comfortable chair, turn on the lights you would like to be able to read by should you lose interest in the game (because you aren’t leaving the room), have snacks and a cold drink within reach, oh, and use the restroom – extra innings are a killer!