Hockey Superstitions

Friday November 09, 2007 @ 01:32 AM EST

Athletes are naturally superstitious and some are more particular about their superstitions than others.

Gretzky always put on his gear left to right, ending with the right side of his jersey tucked in. Jocelyn Thibault would lay out his gear on the floor the same way and six and a half minutes before the game he’d pour water on his head. Crosby tapes his sticks himself and won’t let anyone else touch them afterward; Mrs. Lemieux even tries to replicate dinners if Sid plays well after eating them. In what is perhaps the most famous superstition, players won’t touch – or even go near – the Stanley Cup before they’ve actually won it first.

Some brush off superstitions as childish ways to control fate or unconscious attempts at calming nerves, but superstitions are inherently illogical. Do you think if Gretzky had put his gear on right to left he would be any less of a magnificent player? No. But psychology – the so-called placebo affect – can be a player’s best friend.

This brings me to my ultimate point: as fans, our superstitions run deep as well.

Exhibit A. My father bought me an authentic Colby Armstrong jersey for Christmas last year and it is my prized possession. Until yesterday’s game against the Rangers, Colby had sat out the previous two games – one against the Isles and again Monday against the Devils. I wore the jersey during the Isles game anyway because it is my “game jersey,” only to be donned on game days and, more recently, only when the game actually begins.

Then it occurred to me that perhaps I was actually hurting the team by wearing the jersey of a player who was a scratch. I immediately turned to my “clutch jersey,” my brother’s old one from the Stanley Cup era – I figure it helps to channel the glory years. The results on Monday were promising: the boys posted a 5-0 win against the Devils. SUCCESS! I thought I was back in the swing of things.

Wrong. Unbeknownst to me, Colby was going to be a scratch again against the Flyers; I foolishly returned to my game jersey thinking the kinks had been worked out of the team’s system, as well as my own. The Pens lost to the Flyers 3-1. I had to try harder.

The next game rolled around (i.e. last night against the Rangers) and I wasn’t taking any chances. I wore my clutch jersey and threw Colby’s in the wash for good measure. I didn’t watch pre-game interviews and I didn’t even read the scouting report. I was trying my best to replicate Monday’s routine, but I forgot one minor detail – because I had a night class on Monday, I didn’t even see the game. Instead, I listened to it on 105.9 the X, and I only caught the last half of the third period. We lost 4-2.

After the game I tried to figure out what went wrong with the team, but also with me. I thought back to the most recent losses against the Avs, Isles, the Flyers and the Rangers last night – what did they all have in common? Then it hit me: my dad’s big-screen TV.

My father recently moved into a new house and with the house came a magnificent 62” TV with satellite and HD capabilities; proof God is a hockey fan and wants us to be happy. I had watched every one of the games – save the win against the Devils – on that glorious piece of electronic bliss.

This when I reached a crossroads in my fandom – watching hockey at my dad’s house is something akin to eternal happiness without having to die to get it, but great picture and sound quality mean nothing when the boys lose. So I have made the difficult decision to forgo the pleasures of big-screen, HD television for my smaller, non-HD TV at home. If that doesn’t work, I may have to fully revert to listening on the radio, all to give the Pens an extra boost.

Some friends say it’s not worth it, that I’m overreacting, that my watching or not watching the game, the piece of equipment on which I view it and the jersey I choose to wear while doing so has no real impact on the team’s performance. I get that it doesn’t make sense to them but, like I said, superstitions makes us all illogical. And I’m not taking any chances.

• Email to friend

Email address Message