We all hear the superstitions when the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday. Besides, no player on earth wants to wear the number 13. Superstitions and rituals like these have been a part of sports since we started playing them. Whether it's drinking urine or talking to goal posts, some athletes have used weird rituals to help take their game to the next level.
Michael Jordan
Even the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, relies on superstitions. He always wore his blue North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform for good luck. In order to cover his lucky pair, Jordan began wearing longer shorts, which inspired a trend in the NBA.
Serena & Venus Williams
Serena and Venus Williams do also have their own superstitions. Serena believes much of her winning ways are the result of routines, which includes: bringing her shower sandals to the court, tying her shoelaces a specific way and bouncing the ball five times before her first serve and twice before her second. She will even wear the same pair of socks during a tournament run.
Also her sister, Venus Williams, has an explanation for her incredible performances. Venus is pining for her dog ‘Bobby’, who is stuck at home in Florida thanks to quarantine laws. The Yorkshire terrier is really important in her training, so she says: ‘If Bobby were here, he'd be a joy every day. He helps me warm up on the court. He's quite noisy and makes me feel good. He's a feel-good dog. I didn't even bring a picture of him.’
Wade Boggs
If you want to know about superstitions in baseball, Wade Boggs is a perfect case study.
He is also known as the "Chicken Man’, because he would eat poultry before every game and was obsessively compulsive about his routine. He took exactly 150 ground balls during infield practice and had a fixation on time.
Before each at-bat, he would write the Hebrew word "Chai" (“Life”) into the dirt of the batter's box.
Between pitches, he had a habit if he was playing defence: he'd swipe the dirt in front of him with his left foot, tap his glove two or three times and adjust his cap. And those are just a few of dozens of Wade Boggs's superstitions.
Jason Terry
Easily the most superstitious player in the NBA, Jason Terry's list of quirks includes eating chicken before games like Wade Boggs and wearing five pairs of socks while playing. However, the most bizarre habit occurs while he is sleeping. The night before every game, Terry goes to bed while wearing the shorts of the next day's opposing team.
