For some, it's an old sweaty hat. For others, it's a ritual before every game. But for nearly all athletes, superstitions are standard.
It's strange, really. Athletes so full of talent and drive rely on little habits and familiarities to bring home wins.
I'm sure there are some out there who don't believe in superstitions, but those such athletes are scarce and far less interesting than the superstitious ones.
As an athlete, I too have my own illogical routines and special items that boost my confidence pre-competition.
My blue and orange polka-dotted socks. The necklace my parents gave me for graduation. The goofy visor my teammates made for me before SECs. All are crucial in giving me that winning state of mind.
On a larger and more publicized note, a major league baseball team has been sporting some rather unfortunate looking facial hair as of late.
My beloved St. Louis Cardinals, a team sitting atop the NL Central, are attributing their recent success to their mustaches. Shocking, yet true.
After several brutal losses to the San Francisco Giants, pitcher Adam Wainwright decided it would be a good plan to grow out the fuzz on his upper lip. Convincing some of his teammates that it was lucky, several other Redbirds grew fu-manchu looking 'staches.
Now, after the Cards took a critical series with the second place Brewers and won their next five of six games, nearly the entire starting lineup looks like Wyatt Earp.
Even Alabama-born rookie Colby Rasmus is working on his superstitious 'stache.
It's not just the Cardinals. The "Curse of the Bambino" plagued Boston fans for 86 years. The Cubs, a team that hasn't seen the excitement of a World Series since 1945, are said to be vexed by a billy goat. Even Tiger Woods, a man thought to make his own luck, relies on superstition. He wears red on Sundays, the final day of most tournaments, because red is a lucky color in Thailand, the birthplace of his mother.
The list goes on. Michael Jordan wore his North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform for every game. Pitcher Turk Wendell used to chew four pieces of black licorice before every inning, spit it out at the end of the inning and brush his teeth between every inning.
These superstitions don't just affect the athletes. The fans play parts in the success or failure, too. All fans know never to mention a "no-no" while it's happening. Some insist on wearing the same goofy face paint or mask to every game.
Boston fan Gino Castignoli, a construction worker at the site of the new Yankee Stadium, even buried a Red Sox jersey beneath the stadium corridor to try to jinx his least favorite team. Yankees officials, outraged at the fan's audacity, drilled through two feet of concrete to remove the jersey, and spent $50,000 doing it.
Superstitions are no joke in sports. If you don't believe in them, you are probably cursing your favorite team or athlete.
Though superstitions may not necessarily be 100 percent true or logical (emphasis on the 'may'), they are certainly useful in giving athletes the right mindset.
A great coach once told me that whether I believe I am going to win or lose, I am right.
This is why superstitions can be a gift or a curse.
Since the Cardinals believe their mustaches are helping them win, they are winning. If they thought they were unlucky, they could very well be losing and would be clean shaven.
Sometimes, it seems like it's better to be lucky than good.
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