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| One of my sports superstitions |
"Very superstitious writings on the wall. Very superstitious, ladders 'bout to fall... When you believe in things that you don't understand...then you suffer. Superstition ain't the way".
Stevie Wonder said it, with his usual lyrical excellence. Superstitions make no sense. We don't understand why we're superstitious about something, yet we are. This is especially true in sports. Admit it. You will do something, or not do something. Or wear something, or not wear something. Why? Because we think it will help the team we root for. Otherwise we will "jinx" them.
How many times have you been watching the Eagles, and the other team scores, so you get up and sit on a different part of your couch? Just this past Sunday for the NFC Championship game, my sister, brother-in-law, and niece did not join the rest of us at my parents' house, because they stayed home the week before and the Eagles won. So naturally, they had to stay home again. I, on the other hand DID go with my family to my parents' house for the Rams game, so of course I was going to go back for the Commanders game. I'll be there for Super Bowl Sunday too. It wouldn't shock me if my sister's family did not show up again.
Hey, it's all for a good cause, right? Because obviously the little things we do impact sports...don't they? Of course they don't. So why do we do these things? Why do we think the Eagles missing on a 3rd and 5 is because of where we were sitting? Why do we think Jake Elliot missing a field goal is because...actually, never mind, that probably wasn't anything we did. (NOTE: Just a joke. I appreciate everything Jake Elliot has meant to the Birds). Of course we have no impact on the game, yet we think we do.
"I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious"
-Michael Scott (Steve Carell) from "The Office"
I have 2 of the strangest sports superstitions. On the day of a big game, I cannot wear anything with that team's logo. In fact, what I have to do is wear something from ANOTHER team. I wore a Flyers jersey for the past 2 Super Bowls the Eagles were in...so I'm 1 for 2.
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| Super Bowl LII morning Flyer'd Up |
The picture above was taken the morning of Super Bowl LII. I wore my Flyers jersey to my radio gig, and kept in on all day. As an aside, I knew The Eagles would win that day. On the ground floor of the Bala Cynwyd building the radio station was in, is Katz's Deli. When I left after my shift, as I was walking through the building's lobby, I ran into former Eagles GM Jim Murray coming out of Katz's. That seemed to be a good omen.
For Super Bowl LIX, I'll likely wear my Phillies City Connect jersey. Just trying to do my part. My other sports superstition is admittedly ridiculous. Sports pastry. At our Super Bowl party, there will be no cakes or cookies that have the Eagles logo, or say anything about the Eagles. The reason is simple. When I was a kid and the Eagles played the Raiders in Super Bowl XV, my grandmother bought a cake that said "Go Eagles" in big green lettering. And we all know what happened in that game. The Eagles were crushed by Jim Plunkett and the Raiders 27-10. I was only 7 years old, but I remember that game well...and I remember the cake even more.
My crazy superstitions have extended to my family. If anyone walks into my parents' house on Super Bowl Sunday wearing anything Eagles, my parents will likely make them go home and change. And an Eagles cake would not be allowed in the house.
Why do we think we have this kind of power? Like what we do has ANY impact on the game. Why? It's ridiculous on its surface, yet here we are. I am waiting for the day when a reporter asks Nick Sirianni after a loss what went wrong, and Nick will say something like, "We got off to a great start, but then Jason Lee's family brought out that damn Eagles cake, and it was all downhill from there".
Who knows why we do this? Maybe it's because we want to feel like we are part of the team in some small way. Maybe we want to feel like we are helping them. Your guess is as good as mine. If you have any sports superstitions, I would love to hear them. Leave me a comment below.
Meanwhile, keep doing what you're doing and I'll keep doing what I'm doing. It must be working. The Eagles are back in the Super Bowl. I have to run now. My kid just opened up an umbrella in the house.