by Mat George |

Michael Jordan, a graduate of North Carolina, always wore his blue North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform for good luck. Jason Terry wears the shorts of the next day’s opposing team to bed and Serena Williams brings her shower sandals to the court. These are just a few of many players who do strange things because of their belief in superstitions.  They participate in the rituals because they believe their behaviors will have a specific power that will help them win games.  Students and staff members also have beliefs that certain things will help their team win the game.

– “I wear two pairs of Nike socks under my game socks.  I do it because it’s comfortable.  I feel like if everyone did it then we would have a winning tradition for our men’s football team,” junior Justin Tucker said.

– “I keep my old state ring in a box because it’s a new season,” coach Thomas Rottjakob said.

– “For basketball, I use to always put a 20 dollar bill into my right shoe. For softball, I would always twist my back foot, swipe it and tap my bat across home plate,” senior Morgan Osborn said.

– “I don’t step on the chalk lines before the games because I believe that if you do you will lose the game.  I have done this ever since my coach told me this in third grade.  Also, I wear my shin guard straps one upside down and one right side up,” sophomore Bret Schoenebeck said.

– “I wear Under Armour pants under my softball pants.   This started when I was 13.  I wear them all year round and I only wear them in black.  I’ll probably even wear them when I go to college at Oklahoma State, even though it’s sponsored by Nike,” senior Chelsea Ross said.