Superstitions can seem like silly rituals to outsiders; but to athletes, they are a normal part of everyday life. Whether it’s wearing the same pair of socks to each game or saying a little prayer before your at-bat, superstitions can be much more than just quirky doings. 

Usually the customs arise in coincidental situations in which an athlete performs well, and then the ritual becomes obligatory in their mind. Pace softball player, Rachael McMahon, has a tradition of her own.

“It’s a bit weird, but I always have to take an even number of practice swings before every game,” said McMahon, a senior journalism major. “I’ve been doing it since I was twelve, I think. It’s kind of hard to explain but I guess it sort of just happened and I ended up sticking with it.” 

Junior football player Joseph Roman mentioned that he has to listen to the same song before every game, which began after a stroke of luck many years ago.

“For me it’s ‘M.I.A.’ by Avenged Sevenfold, that’s what helps me get ready,” said Roman, who is majoring in accounting. “I think I started listening to that in high school. I had a good game and I just rode the wave.”

One of the good things about these superstitions is that it helps each athlete get into their own “zone,” as said by junior football player Brian Beeker, a criminal justice major. Beeker listens to music by rapper Drake in order to prepare, showing how two similar routines can turn in opposite directions.

While these quirky practices seem to evolve out of nowhere, they have stuck with these athletes for a long period of time, seemingly providing them with a certain level of comfort. Their superstitions become an important part of a routine that works for them. Seeing as sports can be quite unpredictable as many elements are out of the athletes’ control, it can become a little overwhelming for athletes to cope with the pre-game stress levels. Some athletes utilize superstitious rituals as something that they do have control over and so when they fail to carry out the custom, anxieties levels can rise.

 “I always have to put everything on my right side before I go and put it on my left side,” said senior soccer player Paloma Martinez, who is majoring in journalism. “I remember one time I didn’t do this and I got really anxious, so it’s definitely something that I just have to do all the time.”

While it can be argued that these superstitions are just trivial notions that don’t do much, they serve a mental purpose for athletes providing them with confidence.

Junior basketball player Margo Hackett, a childhood education major, always tries to have fruit before every game, with bananas being her preferred choice, as she believes they give her “the most energy.” Teammate Lovisa Hagberg, a criminal justice major, looks to music and a good breakfast to get herself ready for a game. 

Eating bananas and listening to music certainly doesn’t give these two players super-strength before their games, but it does give them more confidence because they believe in what they are doing. 

These routines and superstitions are not just something that individual athletes use. Sometimes entire teams have a certain routine that they have to do together before every game. 

The women’s basketball team for instance always sits in the same seats when they board the bus for away games and also gather together to eat their pre-game meal. Once again, these rituals allow players to have a certain consistency that makes them comfortable, before enduring the unpredictable waters of game-day.

Athletes’ beliefs in their own routines allow them to believe that they will perform well in the game, and as the saying by William Arthur Ward goes “if you can imagine it, you can achieve it.”