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.