March is in full swing and that can only mean one thing: madness. But, this means much more to some than it does to others. There are stories about die-hard fans wearing unclean attire to improve the luck of their beloved sports team, but some people go too far.
According to an ESPN poll, one in five sports fans try to affect the odds of winning for a favorite team. ESPN reported that one woman was convinced that her favorite football team lost because she used a pink toothbrush. Red was the color of the rival team, and pink is a shade of red, so that must be why her team lost, right?
Steve Allen, a 6th-semester accounting major, showed his superstitious side when he didn't shave during the 2007-2008 NFL football season.
"It was for Giants pride," he said. "They just started doing a lot better and I became superstitious. I decided to find something that was causing it, but all I could find was my beautifully red beard and one hell of a shaggy haircut."
The Giants won the Superbowl that year, but Allen doesn't think that his shagginess had anything to do with it.
A little sports superstition is all right to have. It can potentially make the sport more fun and exciting. Even though most people know that their silly routines and timeless traditions are probably not going to have any effect on how a team plays, they do it because it's fun.
I wonder if anyone ever thinks about the fact that people on the rival team are doing the same types of things with their never-been-washed jerseys and dirt-stained baseball caps. Also, what happens if their lucky T-shirt fails to earn their team a win? Does the shirt become unlucky? Usually, it seems like people keep wearing the paraphernalia, despite the fact that their team lost. It sort of goes against the whole idea behind superstitions.
It is also ridiculous that friends, family and significant others get blamed for a teams loss simply by existing. This past year, Jessica Simpson was accused of being a bad luck charm for her husband, Tony Romo. She earned the nickname "Yoko Romo" and was asked about her curse on numerous talkshows. She said she thought all of the superstitions about her and sports were silly. Indeed, they don't make much sense.
Bad luck may not exist, but other people can affect a player's performance. If a player is conflicted about something big in his life, or if he is fighting with a family member or significant other, his skills might be affected, but luck has nothing to do with it. No matter how fun it is, fans should keep their traditions at a reasonable level. Not washing the same pair of socks for a year and a half can't be healthy for anyone. The best way that a crowd can affect a performance is through energy. Actors feed off of claps and singers feed off of whistles and shouts. Sports players feed off of intense cheers and posters being waved around in the stadium - just not during foul shots, of course. If fans cease to cheer for their team or believe in them when they aren't doing well, then the energy is gone. Players can use that feedback to play harder and better. So a better way for fans to try to secure a win for their team is to cheer. I guess they can wear their lucky hat, too, but maybe they should wash those socks before going to the game.
Players having superstitions is a different story. It makes more sense for a player to be superstitious from a psychological perspective. If a player is wearing his lucky boxers, he may think that is what causes him to win, causing a self-fulfilling prophecy. Player motivation is healthy for a game, provided that their lucky socks don't start growing mysterious fungi. This March, fans should keep it low-key. Do things that may actually affect the players' performances, like cheering until you lose your voice or painting yourself blue and white.
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