Your Friday Moment of Zen, Friday the 13th Edition

The Playoff Beard/Pink Tie Combo is Epic. Kudos to Chara

Today is Friday the 13th, which is a superstitious day for some and a complete joke to others.  If you have friggatriskaidekaphobia, that means that you have a fear of Friday the 13th.  While superstitions are a little stupid and silly, professional athletes might be the most superstitious people on the planet. Here are a few of my favorite sports superstitions:


The Playoff Beard

Gross

Playoff beards started in the 1980s with the New York Islanders (yes, the Isles used to make the playoffs way back when!) After the Islanders won the Stanley Cup that year, many teams started catching on to the playoff beard superstition.  The beard growing also spread to NCAA and even high-school level hockey.  Today playoff beards have spread to most mainstream sports. Football, soccer, tennis and even basketball players have all grown beards with hopes of winning championships.  I guess I'm forced to thank New York for this one.  Some playoff beards are weak (see Sidney Crosby) but others are absolutely epic.  


Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx

Several star athletes have suffered misfortunes after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine since its inaugural edition in 1954. Milwaukee Braves third baseman, Eddie Matthews, was featured on the first edition and suffered a bad hand injury shortly after.  The injury kept him out of play for a week or so, but since then the curse has claimed many victims.  Remember when Tom Brady tore his ACL and MCL in the season opening game in 2008?  He had previously appeared on the "Season Preview" issue in September.  He missed the rest of the season.  Another notable jinx was Lindsey Vonn's shin injury weeks after appearing on the Winter Olympics cover of Sports Illustrated in 2010.  Despite the shin injury, she won a gold and bronze medal.  People have tried to beat the curse, like the New York Yankees.  Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettite all appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  Everyone except for Jeter suffered from injuries in a week or so after the cover was released.  If you want a complete list click here. 


Superstitious Rituals
Think back to the days when Nomar Garciaparra was one of the best in the league.  Remember his ritual?  Adjust the red arm band on his right arm, tap home plate with his bat, then quickly touch the helmet, touch the bat, then touch the helmet.  Next comes the synchronized glove pulling and cleat digging.  While balancing his bat on his shoulder, he yanks his batting glove with his left hand, then his right hand crosses over his left and tugs on the left hand glove.  He would repeat this at least up to four times. This is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of sports rituals.  Rituals may include pre-game meals (like Brian Urlacher only eating two chocolate chip cookies before each game) or routines for putting equipment on.  Some rather silly and funny rituals include NHL star Alex Ovechkin's need to have sex before every and after every game, Jacksonville Jaguars' John Henderson demanding his trainers to slap him as hard as they can and Celtics shooting guard, Jason Terry, wearing the opponents shorts to sleep the night before a game.  There a few really strange ones, and most professional athletes have one, or two, or a few…

Forgive me, I couldn't find a clear video of Nomar anyone on the internet.  This is a pretty funny video about NHL stars and their superstitions though! Enjoy.