BY BRIANN MEASE
Every dedicated athlete knows that when it comes to the sport they play, everything is taken seriously. Everything from the way they put on their uniform, the socks they wear, or even the way they style their hair, it all matters and affects their game.
There are athletes who do not care too much, athletes who care a lot, and athletes who take it to a whole new level. Most athletes have at least one crazy superstition about what will give them the luck they need to win the game.
Personally, I know that soccer has many superstitions, since that is the sport I play. One world-wide known superstition is about the socks superstition.
Once the team wins a game some athletes decide to wear the same pair of socks, with out washing them. They do this hoping that they will withhold the good luck, and keep the winning streak alive.
All sports, even football, the brutal sport it is, have superstitions. Defensive lineman for the Jacksonville Jaguars, John Henderson had his trainer slap him before every game.
This was done in order to get him pumped up before the game. Even though his trainer was said to be much smaller than him, he had enough self-control not to hit him back.
Wade Boggs, who was once a member of the New York Yankees, as well as the Boston Red Sox baseball teams, was also a strong believer in athlete superstitions. Boggs always had to have a pre-game meal.
The weird part about this pre-game meal was that it had to be some sort of chicken, nothing more and nothing less. This ritual seemed to pay off since Boggs was one of the first to crack the 3,000-hit barrier and won a world series ring.
One player who has the most unusual superstition is Mike Bibby, a member of New York Knicks’ basketball team. It started out as a routine and became a habit.
While Bibby sits on the bench waiting to go into the game, he clips his nails. He does this assuming it will give him better luck, not to mention good hygiene!
It is surprising how many athletes have these weird superstitions. It is not only famous or professional athletes it is normal everyday people, even some of the LHS students.
One of these athletes is Breana Clemens, a junior on the LHS junior varsity cheerleading squad. Clemens has been cheerleading since she was five years old.
For the past few years being on the school team, she has followed the routine of listening to the exact same music playlist on her iPod. This is something she does before every game, and so far it has proven to be successful for her.
Another one of the bunch of athletes is Erin Winters, a sophmore who is on the track team as a vaulter. Winters has been on the team for one whole season and seems to be doing very well.
The reason for this great success may be because of the two routines she follows before every meet.
Winters makes sure to always wear a specific pair of Nike or Under Armuor socks. Additionally, she also takes time to sit by herself and listen to music to get focused.
A senior on the LHS wrestling team, Dillion Suarez has been wresting for eight years. Suarez strongly believes that if he does not wear his red wrestling shoes he will loose a match.
Reid Dissinger, a sophmore on the LHS soccer team. Dissinger has played soccer for seven years.
In order to get mentally focused for games, he wears his pink goalie gloves. In his mind, wearing these gloves has always worked, and he has had an outstanding performance because of them.
It is not just students and professional athletes who have superstitions, but some teachers do too. Mr. Angel Capellan, an LHS Spanish teachers had very specific routine that he used to follow “back in the day.”
Capellan was and still is, very passionate about volleyball. He believes that he could beat a team of players all by himself, because he is just that good.
Before every game he used to run for ten minutes, do some very thorough stretching, run again for two minutes, and then warm up with the ball. At the end of the game he would state, “I won,” with confidence.
Keep in mind that each and every one of these athletes put all of their hope and faith into routines they have. However, once one of these routines fails, all hope is lost.
The only choice they have left is to stop relying on it, find a new one, or give up. It’s either go hard, or go home.
Editor’s Note: Briann Mease is a student at Lebanon High School and staff writer for the school’s newspaper.
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