Knock on Wood: Exploring the Effect of Superstitions in Sports
Published in the End of Year Issue of Volume XIII of the Big Red Magazine.
Lauren Witmer ’19 plugs her earbuds in as the opening guitar riff of the Dropkick Murphys’ “Fields of Athenry” runs through her head. As a staple of her pregame ritual, the senior outfielder is no stranger to the roll of the drums and the thick Irish accent of lead vocalist Al Barr. Witmer said she has always had a soft spot for Irish rock, but this song was different.
“In my sophomore year, I just decided to play it before the first playoff game and we won,” Witmer said. “From then on, I played it before every game.”
Growing up, Witmer’s parents would play the 2003 tune before her brothers’ tournaments. Witmer said that she decided to keep the family tradition going in her own athletic career after watching her siblings succeed on the field.
“I figured I’d try it out,” Witmer said. “If it didn’t work, I wouldn’t play it anymore. But after winning that first playoff match, I just had to keep the tradition going. I guess you could call it a superstition.”
Superstitions in sports are common. Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky covered his stick with baby powder before taking the ice. 23-time major champion Serena Williams refused to change her socks for entire tournaments. Six-time NBA Finals MVP Michael Jordan wore his University of North Carolina shorts under his Bulls jersey every game.
Superstitions are everywhere, and they impact athletes at every level; but do they really work?
Gabriel Palacios ’20 laced up his black Nike Tiempos before his Dec. 5 league opener on Ted Slavin field. After double-knotting his right shoe, Palacios slipped his foot into his left cleat, its orange stripe reflecting the setting winter sun. This time, however, he made sure to pull harder, securing his foot in the tightest position possible.
“I have to tie my left shoe tighter than my right because the tighter my shoe is, the more ball control I have,” Palacios said. “If I have a really loose shoe, my foot feels like it is somewhere but the shoe is somewhere else.”
Palacios said that he does not think this phenomenon applies to everyone. He said that some players prefer their cleats loose, some tight, and some in between. He became so accustomed to his own cleats that it began to affect his mental preparation.
“If my shoes aren’t tight and I have a bad touch, I’ll be thinking, ‘It’s the shoes’,” Palacios said. “At this point, it’s definitely mental.”
Palacios has been superstitious his whole life. Ever since he was little, Palacios said he has done whatever it takes to quench his unrelenting competitiveness. In his 2018 club season, he wore black Nike HyperVenoms for the entire season, ultimately ditching them for his Tiempos after just a few games.
“It just didn’t feel right,” Palacios said. “I don’t really know what happened. The touch, the traction, the fit. I just didn’t feel as comfortable in them as I did in my Tiempos.”
Both Witmer and Palacios said that they know their superstition doesn’t make or break the outcome, yet they still have to do it.
“There have been a couple games where I have forgotten to listen to the song,” Witmer said. “I don’t think it had an impact, but it has definitely become a part of my routine.”
Witmer added that although she knows it won’t affect the outcome, she still listens to the song to prepare for her matches.
“Now I just do it because I like the song. I have done it enough times before the game to a point where it becomes a consistent pregame ritual,” Witmer said. “Without it, I think I would be a bit dazed when I play.
Pete Crow-Armstrong ’20 has developed a unique pregame ritual as well. For the past couple of years, the 5-star center fielder eats one pack of gummies before taking the field, a superstition that he said has maintained for the purpose of pure enjoyment.
“I started eating them for no reason,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I mostly eat them cause I like them.”
Crow-Armstrong, the leadoff batter for the Wolverines and projected first-round pick, leads the squad with five triples in just 112 at-bats this spring. Yet his pregame routine reminds athletes that a little sugar before a match couldn’t hurt.
“If I don’t eat them it’s not a huge deal,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I just missed out on a tasty snack.”
Crow-Armstrong said that he doesn’t consider his Scooby Snacks routine as a superstition but considers the habit a step in his game day preparation.
“Since I’m not very superstitious in the first place, it’s nice to have a small pre- game snack to think about before I play,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It keeps it fun, too.”
Mason Hooks ’20 has a different routine himself. Although he said that he was not very superstitious, the 6-foot-10 forward has a pregame ritual that he cannot miss.
“I have to wash my hands before every game,” Hooks said. “I hate the feeling of anything on my hands during the game. It’s just weird.”
Before every match, Hooks finds the nearest sink. He said that without clean hands, he feels his game is disrupted.
“The ball doesn’t feel right and I don’t really have the same touch with dirty hands,” Hooks said. “If the ball doesn’t have the perfect clean grip, it just doesn’t feel right, and it kind of knocks me out of a rhythm.”
Although strange, Hooks said that his routine doesn’t feel out of the ordinary. In fact, three-time NBA All Star Richard “Rip” Hamilton took cleanliness to the next level, making sure to shower directly before stepping on the court. Like Hamilton, Hooks said that he feels like his ritual is not as much of a superstition as it is a routine.
“Everyone has their own routine,” Hooks said. “I have to do it before I play every single time. You see it with [Johnny Juzang ’19] on a vibrated foam roller before games, and I’m always trying to get sprints in before too.”
Hooks emphasized the importance of individual routines for all athletes.
“If you don’t really get every single part of your routine down, it can throw you off,” Hooks said. Washing my hands is a way for me to kind of get in that mindset before a game.”
Witmer expressed a similar sentiment, saying that she considered listening to “Fields of Athenry” as a habit rather than an ongoing superstition.
“I never really considered it as a superstition of mine,” Witmer said. “I kind of just see it as a part of my preparation for a game.”
Crow-Armstrong said that he tries to avoid superstitions from affecting his mental preparation.
“I think a superstition is way more mental than a routine,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I try to stay away from being superstitious because I know I’ll get in my head if it isn’t working.”
While Hooks, Witmer and Crow-Armstrong may consider their individual rituals as preparation, Palacios said that he believes there is a difference between superstition and routine.
“I think a superstition can be a part of a routine, one action or one little thing that you do that is just mental, whereas a routine is more like overall preparation,” Palacios said. “For example, I don’t think it is superstition to sleep the night before a game. I would consider tying my shoes super tight as a superstition for sure because without it, I would not feel right.”
Superstitions will always be apart of the sports world. As Hooks and Witmer expressed, the line between superstition and routine is often thin for athletes. Fans, on the other hand, continue to take over social media with their superstitions. From lucky socks to the “Madden Curse”, fans will do anything to give their team the advantage. Mike Thomas ’20, both a varsity tennis player and an avid sports fan, said that he believes the difference between players and fans is the amount of control the individual has in the outcome.
“I definitely think it is more likely to be superstitious as a fan because people love to be able to feel like they are making a difference,” Thomas said. “As an athlete, though, I have control over everything from preparation to performance, so I don’t think there is as much of a need for something like superstition.”
Hooks explained how athletes develop their routines as they prepare for gametime.
“Athletes are creatures of habit,” Hooks said. “If something works once, they’re probably going to do it again.”
