Sports superstitions: What nutty stuff do you do to make yourself feel like you have some control over the fate of the team you love?
October 20, 2004 2:00 PM Subscribe
Sports superstitions: Okay Red Sox/Yankees fans, what crazy things will you be doing tonight to help your team win? My wife and I (Sox fans) will be watching from the exact same spots on the bed, and she is instructed to fall asleep by 9:30, just as we've done for the past three games. What nutty stuff do you do to make yourself feel like you have some control over the fate of the team you love?
Response by poster: You said it, Dipsomaniac. During last year's Sox/Yanks Game 7, my friend called another Sox fan friend during the fifth inning and left a message saying "It's looking good!" We all know what happened next. He didn't admit this to anyone else until just a few days ago. He is, of course, banned from using the phone tonight.
posted by schoolgirl report at 2:14 PM on October 20, 2004
posted by schoolgirl report at 2:14 PM on October 20, 2004
I douse Jason Varitek's glove in glue so he's ready when Wakefield enters the game.
posted by mookieproof at 3:08 PM on October 20, 2004
posted by mookieproof at 3:08 PM on October 20, 2004
I'm tempted to post this as an AskMeFi question, but I'll just stick it here: WHY was Lowe taken out?? He was pitching like the reincarnation of Walter Johnson, one hit over six innings... you take him out and put in "the Yankees are my daddy"?! My wife (from Massachusetts) said if the Sox blow the lead she's never watching baseball again. Why is my wife being made to suffer?
And don't tell me God's ways are mysterious.
posted by languagehat at 8:34 PM on October 20, 2004
And don't tell me God's ways are mysterious.
posted by languagehat at 8:34 PM on October 20, 2004
Well, thank you, Schoolgirl Report, for your powerful mojo.
Langhat, I don't know. I just don't know. But it doesn't matter! There was a lot of suffering here at CasaSidhedevil also--Mr. Sidhedevil was bellowing imprecations from the living room.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:19 PM on October 20, 2004
Langhat, I don't know. I just don't know. But it doesn't matter! There was a lot of suffering here at CasaSidhedevil also--Mr. Sidhedevil was bellowing imprecations from the living room.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:19 PM on October 20, 2004
Lowe may well have been tired, as he was pitching on just two days' rest. As to why Pedro was brought in, I have no fucking clue. I find it incomprehensible.
posted by mookieproof at 9:32 PM on October 20, 2004
posted by mookieproof at 9:32 PM on October 20, 2004
Congratulations, schoolgirl report. It worked.
Go CARDS!
posted by red cell at 9:47 PM on October 20, 2004
Go CARDS!
posted by red cell at 9:47 PM on October 20, 2004
I feel I must hang my head in shame, for it was I who caused the Sox to lose last year.
This year I kept my friggin' trap shut, and it seems to have done the trick.
Also, if you're wearing any team stuff when they start the playoffs, you must always wear it, but if you're not, don't go grabbing a cap in the middle of the game because it won't work. The baseball gods don't like that kind of crap.
An anecdotal sidenote: During the Greatest World Series game of all time it's reported that at the top of the 12th inning, Pete Rose stepped up to the plate and remarked to Sox catcher Carlton Fisk "This is some kind of game, huh?" Proof positive that you must keep your mouth shut and contain your enthusiasm for the moment, and never project possibility.
And languagehat: not only was Lowe not fully rested (no one was!) but he's actually been doing far worse this year than last. He's been pretty pissed at management for keeping him out of the lineup, but frankly his performance up until this game was mediocre at best. The only reason they went with him was because having Varitek catching for Wakefield would have been suicide (too many passed balls = too many runners advancing). Lowe did his job, but as last year showed, it's folly to leave someone in after they've done their job.
PS - Foulk rocks.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:45 PM on October 20, 2004
This year I kept my friggin' trap shut, and it seems to have done the trick.
Also, if you're wearing any team stuff when they start the playoffs, you must always wear it, but if you're not, don't go grabbing a cap in the middle of the game because it won't work. The baseball gods don't like that kind of crap.
An anecdotal sidenote: During the Greatest World Series game of all time it's reported that at the top of the 12th inning, Pete Rose stepped up to the plate and remarked to Sox catcher Carlton Fisk "This is some kind of game, huh?" Proof positive that you must keep your mouth shut and contain your enthusiasm for the moment, and never project possibility.
And languagehat: not only was Lowe not fully rested (no one was!) but he's actually been doing far worse this year than last. He's been pretty pissed at management for keeping him out of the lineup, but frankly his performance up until this game was mediocre at best. The only reason they went with him was because having Varitek catching for Wakefield would have been suicide (too many passed balls = too many runners advancing). Lowe did his job, but as last year showed, it's folly to leave someone in after they've done their job.
PS - Foulk rocks.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:45 PM on October 20, 2004
lanuguagehat, there's some good discussion and info about The Lowe Question on Spofi.
I gave up all my superstitions last night (well, other than the pushups), but if you're interested, there's a story in The Red Sox Reader by Dan Riley about a man who wins the 1975 Series for the Sox by sitting on his couch and floor in various ways. It's on page 179, apparently.
posted by yerfatma at 3:25 PM on October 21, 2004
I gave up all my superstitions last night (well, other than the pushups), but if you're interested, there's a story in The Red Sox Reader by Dan Riley about a man who wins the 1975 Series for the Sox by sitting on his couch and floor in various ways. It's on page 179, apparently.
posted by yerfatma at 3:25 PM on October 21, 2004
Thanks, that was an interesting discussion. Don't know why I didn't check out SpoFi. Maybe I will during the Series.
posted by languagehat at 7:16 PM on October 21, 2004
posted by languagehat at 7:16 PM on October 21, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 2:08 PM on October 20, 2004