Three Famous Superstitions of Professional Athletes
Professional athletes all have their own quirks, routines
and outright superstitions that they believe help take their game to the next
level.
Being a professional athlete takes a considerable amount of
mental and physical stamina. Achieving any degree of success in the world of
professional sports requires dedication, talent and sometimes, just a little
bit of good luck.
Whether you believe in luck or not, there are dozens of pros who have developed odd habits and rigid routines that they are convinced help will help them win. These superstitions come in all forms and can be found across the entire realm of professional athletes. The list below showcases a few of the most famous superstitions of professional athletes.
Michael Jordan's Shorts
Lots of athletes believe that wearing a particular piece of
clothing or a certain uniform will help guarantee a win. While this part isn't
so unusual – after all, plenty of people have "lucky socks" or a
"lucky tie" – Michael Jordan actually had to modify his whole style
in order to accommodate his superstition.
Jordan had a pair of "lucky shorts" that were part
of his practice uniform during his days with the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Unfortunately, when he moved up to the Chicago Bulls, he couldn't exactly wear
Carolina blue shorts with his red Bulls jersey. However, Jordan believed so
strongly in the power of those shorts that he actually decided to wear them
under his Bulls shorts! To hide this fact, he began wearing longer, baggier
shorts, which caught on and is the standard uniform for professional basketball
today.
Patrick Roy's Goalpost Communion
Patrick "St. Patrick" Roy is one of the NHL's most
famous goalkeepers, and his strange superstitions have managed to become
equally famous. He begins each game by first skating backwards to the goal box,
because he believes that doing this shrinks the goal.
During every game, he actually speaks to the goalposts. He'll offer them encouragement, pat them throughout a game and thank them every time a puck is deflected. His strange but loving communion with his goalposts is what earned him the nickname of St. Patrick.
Jason Giambi's Golden Thong
Yes, you read that right. The Colorado Rockies legend Jason
Giambi had a very special superstition that he would turn to whenever he fell
into a slump: A golden thong. At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, the mental image of
Giambi shimmying into a skimpy gold thong is certainly amusing, but he swore it
actually worked.
Over time, his golden thong went from being a source of
ribbing from his teammates to a revered tradition. In fact, after seeing
Giambi's superstition pay off numerous times, his teammates would even ask to
borrow them to help end their own bad runs! It might seem ridiculous, but
Giambi is a five-time All-Star player, so maybe there is a little something
behind this famous superstition.
While these superstitions might sound a little crazy, it
turns out that they can help professional athletes cope more effectively with
the extreme pressure of competing on such high levels. So, even if you don't
believe in luck or superstition, it's safe to say that these famous rituals
really did help the athletes perform from a psychological perspective.
