Rituals and being a Part of the Team
Sports rituals and superstitions are as serious as the Superbowl. My first experience with my own rituals was with the Flyers playoffs run a few years back.
Superstitions and the like happen gradually. You sort of start to notice "when I do this, they win, when I do that...they lose. So I'm gonna do this, or they will lose." As if somehow we have some sort of control over what happens on the ice or field. It is as if we don't wear the orange socks with the holes in them, or miss a home game, our very presence will change the outcome of the game. Ego or insanity...or both? Not sure.
Whatever it is, these sport superstitions and rituals become as real as the players in the game. They become as important as the health of the players, and we begin to believe that without adhering to these rituals, or if we chose to ignore them, it is OUR fault that the team lost in overtime.
A few years back we realized that the Flyers won, or scored more points if I laid on my left-hand side. We would also win if I made "Umbergers," not only a hamburger on the grill, but also one of the player's last name on the team. Then as the playoffs progressed we realized that every time I took Cody to the orthodontist, the Flyers would win. The orthodontist is a huge Flyers fan and offered to open up the office, just to allow Cody and I to step foot in the building on game day!
So all that season during the playoffs I would get calls from Jim or if I were at a game, people that knew of the rituals would yell "LEAN TO YOUR LEFT!!" or "Did you go to the orthodontist today?!?!" And all the while we were living on "umbergers!" Insanity!
Now this playoff run there is a new phenomenon happening. Jim's boss' secretary was driving (wherever) during one of the playoff games. So it was noticed that when she is IN the car driving, we start to win, but when she is at the arena, the Flyers lose. So during game seven of the first round of the playoffs, Jim's boss had this poor woman driving around Philadelphia for 3 HOURS straight! But we won!
Yesterday, since it was game one, she was sitting in the suite with us..no driving...and we lost...bad. I told her it was nice knowing her and that she better get her butt back in a vehicle and I don't want to see her again on game day. She laughed and knows she'll be driving around again on Monday, righting her wrong and for not adhering to said ritual.
Yesterday Emersyn didn't wear her jersey to the game. This was the first time I hadn't put her in her Flyers gear. This was the first time that I hadn't put her in her orange and black. So I of course I started to take full responsibility for the Flyers loss. But then I came to my senses..."it was Sharon's fault, she wasn't driving around....how dare her!"
My husband is growing a beard and looks like a lumberjack, he has to wear this orange and white bracelet. Sharon is driving around Philly for hours on end. Emersyn has to wear orange and black. I am not sure what my role is as I haven't seen a pattern to my food or clothing choices yet.
The insanity that surrounds sports is epidemic. People take their sports as serious as any other part of their life. The spend hundreds, if not thousands on tickets, apparel and trinkets to show their support for the team that they quickly comfortably .refer to as "we."
Rituals and superstitions become just as important as the ice on the rink or the grass on the field and the fans take them as seriously as any part of the game. It makes the fan responsible and gives them the same accountability as the quarterback, they know, "hey, I did my part, now it's the quarterback's turn to throw the ball." The fan becomes the seventh man on the ice during the hockey game when he knows he is wearing his lucky hat, and knows it is his fault if they lose if he forgets to wear THE HAT.
.
Insanity? Overzealous fans? Perhaps, but it makes us all a part of something bigger than our mortgage payments and overgrown yards. These rituals make us a part of the win. They makes us a part of a team. And without our ritual, we are simply a fan watching a bunch of guys play a game, that get paid to much. Who wants to do that?
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Superstitions and the like happen gradually. You sort of start to notice "when I do this, they win, when I do that...they lose. So I'm gonna do this, or they will lose." As if somehow we have some sort of control over what happens on the ice or field. It is as if we don't wear the orange socks with the holes in them, or miss a home game, our very presence will change the outcome of the game. Ego or insanity...or both? Not sure.
Whatever it is, these sport superstitions and rituals become as real as the players in the game. They become as important as the health of the players, and we begin to believe that without adhering to these rituals, or if we chose to ignore them, it is OUR fault that the team lost in overtime.
A few years back we realized that the Flyers won, or scored more points if I laid on my left-hand side. We would also win if I made "Umbergers," not only a hamburger on the grill, but also one of the player's last name on the team. Then as the playoffs progressed we realized that every time I took Cody to the orthodontist, the Flyers would win. The orthodontist is a huge Flyers fan and offered to open up the office, just to allow Cody and I to step foot in the building on game day!
So all that season during the playoffs I would get calls from Jim or if I were at a game, people that knew of the rituals would yell "LEAN TO YOUR LEFT!!" or "Did you go to the orthodontist today?!?!" And all the while we were living on "umbergers!" Insanity!
Now this playoff run there is a new phenomenon happening. Jim's boss' secretary was driving (wherever) during one of the playoff games. So it was noticed that when she is IN the car driving, we start to win, but when she is at the arena, the Flyers lose. So during game seven of the first round of the playoffs, Jim's boss had this poor woman driving around Philadelphia for 3 HOURS straight! But we won!
Yesterday, since it was game one, she was sitting in the suite with us..no driving...and we lost...bad. I told her it was nice knowing her and that she better get her butt back in a vehicle and I don't want to see her again on game day. She laughed and knows she'll be driving around again on Monday, righting her wrong and for not adhering to said ritual.
Yesterday Emersyn didn't wear her jersey to the game. This was the first time I hadn't put her in her Flyers gear. This was the first time that I hadn't put her in her orange and black. So I of course I started to take full responsibility for the Flyers loss. But then I came to my senses..."it was Sharon's fault, she wasn't driving around....how dare her!"My husband is growing a beard and looks like a lumberjack, he has to wear this orange and white bracelet. Sharon is driving around Philly for hours on end. Emersyn has to wear orange and black. I am not sure what my role is as I haven't seen a pattern to my food or clothing choices yet.
The insanity that surrounds sports is epidemic. People take their sports as serious as any other part of their life. The spend hundreds, if not thousands on tickets, apparel and trinkets to show their support for the team that they quickly comfortably .refer to as "we."
Rituals and superstitions become just as important as the ice on the rink or the grass on the field and the fans take them as seriously as any part of the game. It makes the fan responsible and gives them the same accountability as the quarterback, they know, "hey, I did my part, now it's the quarterback's turn to throw the ball." The fan becomes the seventh man on the ice during the hockey game when he knows he is wearing his lucky hat, and knows it is his fault if they lose if he forgets to wear THE HAT.
.
Insanity? Overzealous fans? Perhaps, but it makes us all a part of something bigger than our mortgage payments and overgrown yards. These rituals make us a part of the win. They makes us a part of a team. And without our ritual, we are simply a fan watching a bunch of guys play a game, that get paid to much. Who wants to do that?
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