Blogger Superstitions

Do you wear a specific jersey to a game? Do you have a special chair that only you may sit in? Have you ever thrown a hissy fit because something wasn't exactly as it was supposed to be before a game?

Just like the NHL players we adore, fans adhere to their own strange and odd superstitions. Others take pleasure in seeing others torture themselves with stupid beliefs that are usually futile.

As someone who follows a few quirky pre-game rituals myself, I decided that I would go in search of other hockey bloggers who may be a little loony before the puck drops.

We asked some of the blogosphere's best to contribute, but just a few schmoes responded...

Greg Wyshynski - Editor of Puck Daddy

"I will reveal two superstitions from when I was a wee lad in Matawan, NJ that I'm not sure I ever revealed before on the Web.

I used to believe that the New Jersey Devils' play could be affected by my drinking pink lemonade from a specific plastic cup in the house, with ice cubes. If I failed to properly execute this voodoo ... well, how do you think Matteau scored in Game 7 of the Rangers series in 1994, huh?

It was my fault.

Once in a while, when the Devils would be playing poorly (as they would occasionally before ruining hockey with their defense), I would throw a tantrum. Tossing the remote control, telling my father how gutless the team was and how I was revoking my fandom. I would do this because I felt it would, again, somehow affect the team. When they'd rally ... well, obviously my vibes traveled all the way to Edmonton through the Sportschannel feed. When they didn't ... well, I'd just get back in front of the TV with my lemonade and do it all again next game."

DC Sports Chick - On Frozen Blog
My husband is significantly superstitious when it concerns the Capitals. He frequently only wears certain jerseys, T-shirts, or hats (or combination thereof) if it "works" when the Caps win. If they lose, I'll never see him wear that combination or even various articles of clothing again, even when the Caps aren't playing or if hockey is out of season. In fact, we just had a long conversation yesterday where he was debating the merits of wearing his red Clark jersey or his Ovechkin "Rock the Red" shirt to tomorrow night's game. Normally I just laugh at him when he has these discussions, but I know the playoffs are serious business.

Vance and Denson - BanginPanger.com
It's funny. There's two of us that write over at BanginPanger, and we couldn't be more polar opposites when it comes to superstitions. Myself? I don't buy into it, as a matter of fact, I will literally antagonize anyone into doing their little sideshow good luck dance a) because it's funny as hell and b) they actually believe knocking on wood will alter the course of the contest. The closest thing a superstition I've got? Well, I do go by hunches as to what jersey to wear, does that count? No? Oh well, still don't care.

So if you couldn't figure it out, Denson goes all out, constantly knocking on wood, wearing the same clothes - down to the socks (unwashed), sitting in the same seat for each game, drinking the same drinks, it goes on and on. One time, one of his buddies wasn't there, but I wasn't allowed to sit in his seat, I sat in it anyway. They still won. I must've upheld the spirit of the Pittsburgh fan, or something. Oh well, still don't care.

Kevin Schultz - Barry Melrose Rocks
Playoff superstitions? You kidding me? PLAYOFF superstitions? I just hope we can win another game!

/ Jim Mora voice

It's kind of hard to have any playoff superstitions when you're an Islanders fan. I've been to exactly one Islander playoff game in my life. That was Game Three against Toronto back in 2003. That was a special season and it was the first playoff game at the Coliseum since 1994 when we got embarrassed by the Rangers. It was EPIC. It's the only game I've been to (the following postseasons blew and did not necessarily warrant shelling out money to see) but it was awesome. I've got no superstitions. One game in addition to a crappy team to root for, no traditions or superstitions can really get started.

But one game is enough to realize what makes the playoffs, and the Cup, so awesome. Any taste of the playoffs means your team has a chance. And any taste of the playoffs is probably going to have it's fair share of epic moments. Even if your team loses in the first round, it can make all the suffering, all the horrendous seasons, all the bad, worth it.

Notice how I said "it can." That doesn't necessarily mean that it does.

In fact, if your team has been good for almost as long as you can remember, screw you. Success probably doesn't taste that good to you. It's the norm. You haven't suffered. You haven't lived.

And I'm jealous as hell.

Reed "CK" - Capitals Kremlin
Back during the Jagr days, my Dad and I would watch games together on two easy chairs in our basement. These chairs were a link to the Caps, and when the Capitals (i.e. Jagr) were playing particularly poor, we'd switch chairs in hopes that our good vibes would be broadcast to the team. When our switch-a-roo worked, we'd be filled with pride, as if we had assisted that game-tying-goal.

In fact, the scoresheet for many games in the early 2000's should read, (Bondra 12, Oates 9, Easy Chair 10, 18:36 Third Period).

These days I'm a bit nutty about which Capitals attire I don for a game. I have an Ovechkin and Laich t-shirt, and it's my personal belief that jerseys should only be worn when at a game. Only on special occasions may a jersey breach the living room.

So when it comes time to choosing a shirt to wear I weigh in various factors such as point streaks, recent playing trends, and if I think the player needs that extra "supernatural" boost from me. Most of the time I just go with the shirt that was involved in a recent win, although my Laich and Ovechkin are both tainted with losses.

This can't be good...

Got a superstition of your own? We'd love to hear it! Have at it in the comments!

(Thanks to our guest blogger panel, they're not really schmoes, except for that Caps Kremlin guy...be sure to check out their sites for daily content during the playoffs!)