He walks to the plate with a slow tempo, glove in his back pocket, gum in his left cheek getting ready to swing.  As he sets his feet he bends over grabbing at the dirt packing it in his hands. He squares up to the plate getting ready to swing while waving his bat in a slow circling motion. The ball is hit far into the stands leading to his second home run of the game.

Athletes tend to go through some strange rituals while preparing or even finishing their games. They believe if they do this they will win the game or their performance will improve. Superstitions have been around for the longest time and continue to grow as athletes start to play more. 

The most superstitious sport around is baseball. Many of the players have a ritual during their walk up to bat, or while they are waiting on the mound for a pitch. In other cases, their rituals can happen days before they play.

 For example, Justin Verlander’s superstition is an interesting one. He said on the Conan O’Brien show that every night before he pitches a game he eats Taco Bell for dinner. Verlander said,  “Three crunchy taco supremes, no tomato, a cheesy gordita crunch, and a Mexican pizza, no tomato. Every time.”

Mr. Kuhn, wrestling coach for the Saint Louis Sharks, said, “ Whether I am hungry or not I force myself to go to Subway to order the same sandwich every Wednesday during competition season.” 

Mr. Knauf said, “On every bus ride to an away game everybody sat in the same spots.” 

Mrs. Bissell added, “When watching my kids or coaching them I am always chewing gum. My favorite to chew is Mentos sugar-free.” 

Mr. Huff said, “In high school I ate the same meal before our game. I would eat a sub from Subway, a cold cut combo. When coaching, I did the same thing, but a turkey club from Mackenzies.” 

Mr. Hemker said, “Before every game, Mr. Berry and I would eat the buffet at Ponderosa.”    

Mrs. March said, “When our team got a winning streak in volleyball we stopped washing our uniforms.” 

Mr. Snoblen said. “When I was in high school football, I always wore the same socks every weekend. Also, before every game, I would go to the subway to eat. I wore the same undershirt when it got cold. While coaching if we were doing good I would try to wear the same clothes and always trying to do the same thing each week.” 

Mr. Landis said, “If the block of chalk breaks before I go to lift, I go in with a negative mindset.” 

Girls’ golf coach, Mrs. Biehl said, “When writing down on the score sheet, I write down in the same color pink.” She explained how this would make the other coaches upset.

Another well-known superstition was with the basketball player Michael Jordan. After leading the North Carolina Tar Heels to a national championship he claimed that the shorts he wore were good luck. So during every game, he would wear under his game shorts.

Elizabeth Munderloh said, “When running in cross and track I wear a thin pair of socks. If I don’t it throws me off because it is uncomfortable.”

Kiersten Fransisco said, “When playing any sport I have a braid in my hair. For volleyball Rylyn Hrabal gave us a horseshoe print off that we put at the bottom of our shoe as good luck. I still do it to this day.” 

Delainee Zacharko said, “If I do good in a game I keep the hairstyle the same, but if I do bad I change it up.” 

Mikenna Borie said, “In track, I wear my hair in a braid that is held by lightning McQueen scrunchie.” 

Skylar Rodriguez said, “During softball, I have to have the same walk-up or it would throw my game off.” 

Patrick Hanley said, “Before I play every basketball game, I make sure to take a 15-minute nap.” 

Superstitions not only happen in sports but can happen in our day to day lives. This can range from what people do before they go to work in the morning or what they do at night before they go to bed.