Are You Superstitious On Gameday?
I'm interested to know, how superstitious everyone is on gameday.
I'm not talking about a tradition, like wearing the same jersey.
But I'm talking about something you irrationally do because you believe it may have some impact on the game (momentum, aura, positive "juju", however you want to define the crazy shit we do).
Anyone care to share?
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:15 AM ^
CBy coincidence, my blood pressure app just sent me a notice that my BP readings have been running high on Saturdays during September. Just sayin’. It’s got me spooked so I will start doing something weird to ward off the evil spirits on Saturdays.
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:22 AM ^
I used to be until I realized that the team performs better when I'm not superstitious, so I stopped.
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:41 AM ^
You just can’t escape it.
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:29 PM ^
He's not superstitious. But he is a little stitious.
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:23 AM ^
Not anymore, but I used to be as a kid. Like many people, I would not move from my seat if the team scored. I once saw a car with Ohio plates the day of a win versus OSU, so in years following I would go out on the highway looking for cars with Ohio plates on game day. I used to burn the Sunday news sports section in a garbage can on the front lawn after an OSU loss. I suppose that was more of a tradition. I really miss that rivalry, but I'm glad I'm no longer a fanatic.
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:26 AM ^
I don't pour my first drink until after we score our first touchdown.
I also try very hard not to check the game threads until halftime. Too much rabble.
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:42 AM ^
Nussmeier was not your friend.
September 23rd, 2021 at 1:45 AM ^
He was his sponsor ?
September 23rd, 2021 at 8:58 AM ^
/\ underrated!
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:39 AM ^
I stand during the game. If I want, I can sit during commercials
Between plays, I pace through the kitchen and back to the living room while stepping on the tiles in a specific pattern
September 23rd, 2021 at 10:15 AM ^
I don't have the tile pattern habit, but I do stand and pace during most games. But I'm not sure if that's a superstition, or simply because I get so damn antsy that I can't sit still anyway.
I usually do this while holding a pillow. That way, I can scream profanities into it, and all the neighbors can hear is a muffled "Mthrfker!" coming from our condo.
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:40 AM ^
how could anyone still have a superstition after the last…*checks calendar*….twenty years? Whatever you are doing isn’t working.
Except I think Brian might be onto something about this all being his fault.
September 23rd, 2021 at 1:59 AM ^
I came to say this. I used to be, but that ended a long time ago, and not out of maturation lol
September 23rd, 2021 at 4:59 AM ^
So true. No one's superstitions have worked since 97, so I stopped thinking about it.
September 23rd, 2021 at 7:52 AM ^
In 97, I bought a 6 pack of Leinenkugels Original and we dominated Colorado in the 1st game. So the next week I bought another 6 pack. As the season went on I had to have it for every game. I would drive around if some place was out of it. The next season the first game we lost to Notre Dame and the beer superstition ended.
Go Blue!!
September 23rd, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
I'm not superstitious in the slightest bit. The reason I never, ever recorded games on DVR or videotape (going back to the 90s, no superstition whatsoever mind you) wasn't because my attempts to record games caused Michigan to lose the games I attempted to record, it's just that they coincidentally did lose every single game I tried to record. So I stopped doing it.
So this year I've recorded a couple of games because I figure I'm pessimistic enough that it doesn't matter, and things have worked out fine.
September 23rd, 2021 at 2:11 PM ^
I've noticed a lot of the great teams are in the bible belt.
Does that mean Jesus likes them more? Or do us northerners not pray as good?
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:46 AM ^
If I’m in a sports bar I need to go stand by a table of people I don’t know.
If we have success we have high fives and I go back for key plays.
If we don’t I need to move on. And I throw salt all around.
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:55 AM ^
Not superstitious but I do have a routine.? I watch the game again from the previous week on Friday night, then erase it from my DVR.
September 23rd, 2021 at 1:32 AM ^
Just answering this question is bad luck. Dammit.
September 23rd, 2021 at 2:57 AM ^
I take Fridays off during the season to mentally prepare myself for games on Saturday...
September 23rd, 2021 at 4:38 AM ^
The mocking of WD is strong with this one.
September 23rd, 2021 at 4:39 AM ^
Not anymore but as a kid. Actually my first memories of being a fan are really about the Fab 5. I would have 8 or 9. I remember thinking they lost a game once because I had the flu and was really sick. I also had this giant woven basket with a bunch of toy balls (ball shaped but stuffed instead of being something you actually played sports with). I'd empty that out and have the balls on the opposite side of the living room. If the team was in a funk and needed a run I might start shooting them. I'd keep it going when they were on a run. Pour in the shots and then empty again when I filled it. It was all about the flow of the game and whether I felt I needed to get them going or get them to keep going. I really can't remember being superstitious about football. And I don't think the basketball thing lasted. So I guess I started superstitious but mostly gave it up soon after?
September 23rd, 2021 at 5:16 AM ^
I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.
September 23rd, 2021 at 7:16 AM ^
Yours feels like an obvious joke but I’ve never seen it before. Also, I don’t get out much.
September 23rd, 2021 at 5:59 AM ^
So I hold a football when on offense and set it on the floor when on defense. Stupid and irrational but it makes me feel better.
September 23rd, 2021 at 7:08 AM ^
Yes, I believe that the success of the team is directly related to the amount of emotional investment I have in them. As in, the more I care, the more likely they are to lose. And now that I have managed to check out emotionally after years of abuse, they seem to have turned on a switch.
So, as soon as I come around and care again, they will inevitably blow it.
September 23rd, 2021 at 8:29 AM ^
I will often inhale while looking at Michigan - the unit on the field, bench, score ticker, whatever is available to look at. I'll exhale looking at some opponent thingy. Usually big breaths, or very controlled breathing. My wife will comment when she notices, and its embarrassing. My 10 yr old son will also laugh at me. I know it has nothing to do with what's going to happen, but it's a thing? This translates to other sports, as well.
I want to stop. How can I stop? Can you help me stop? I don't wanna stop...
September 23rd, 2021 at 8:30 AM ^
I didn't wear a single item of Michigan gear while watching the Washington game, and instead wore a Bowling Green hat (daughter was a grad student there).
Should I continue this?
September 23rd, 2021 at 8:32 AM ^
I think the rules state you need to wear exactly what you wore after the last victory. Especially since that was a home game too.
September 23rd, 2021 at 8:34 AM ^
I think fans have finally figured out that the less Adidas gear they wear to games, the better the team does.
September 23rd, 2021 at 8:41 AM ^
If things are going well I'll maintain the same spot on the couch. If they aren't going well I'll move to the recliner for better luck.
I'm completely sure that what happens in my living room has some meaningful impact on the universe, just maybe not on the success of Michigan football.
September 23rd, 2021 at 8:45 AM ^
Not anymore. Any honest Michigan fan's superstitions were obliterated by the Rich Rod and Hoke years.
September 23rd, 2021 at 9:04 AM ^
Mine go from game to game. Definitely for MSU/OSU. Nothing is ever consistent, it's whatever I was doing when UM got some momentum. IE 2018 OSU. Watching on the couch with my brother and now fiance. My fiance got tired of the yelling so she went to another room. UM scored and then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. She attempted to come back out and watch, but we instructed her to go back in the room because we thought the tide was turning. I believe the rest is history and now I have to hear about it each time we talk with folks about my weird obsession with UM football.
Superstitions don't work, until they do. In which case I'm back on the train again. Now I have anxiety. Back to work I go....
September 23rd, 2021 at 9:23 AM ^
I used to care and be superstitious on game day. Then I realized that it didn’t make a difference, so I stop caring this year. So far, it’s working. I wonder if that is in itself another form of superstition…
September 23rd, 2021 at 9:26 AM ^
I used to be, everything from wearing the same shirt (although at least I washed them) each weekend if they were winning to where I was sitting or how my hands were folded, etc.
The last few years however I've moved away from that. The Universe / God / Karma / (whatever you believe) gives not one whit about whether Michigan wins or loses a given game, and anything I do has zero impact on the outcome.
September 23rd, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^
I think if anything, the universe is conspiring against Michigan…when Bo died, his deal with the devil and Dr. Anderson expired. We haven’t been the same since - and it’s well deserved when looking at it through that lens.
September 23rd, 2021 at 9:33 AM ^
Black Nike socks. Every game (football and basketball).
September 23rd, 2021 at 9:42 AM ^
I didn't hang my 'M' flag outside for the WMU and W games and now I afraid to given we are 3-0 with me being flagless.
This despite my neighbor alternating flying ND and 'Bama flags everyday.
September 23rd, 2021 at 9:46 AM ^
Used to be. After 20 years of pain, I’ve accepted that we are cursed (like the Cubs or Red Sox) - until we aren’t.
I do still get a bit nervous before every game, and even more anxious for big games like MSU, PSU, OSU.
September 23rd, 2021 at 9:50 AM ^
Yes! I always ALWAYS shotgun a beer right at kickoff. I used to do one for every TD but body bag games are tough plus as I got older and started having kids that isn't sustainable. I do still shotgun one when I think they need a boost of some sort.
Also have a specific hat, shoes and belt that are only gameday attire. I used to have one shirt that was only gameday attire each year but, like another person earlier, they seemed to do worse when I did that so I don't any more. So maybe that's the superstition now.
September 23rd, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
I have this cool Wolverine shirt I used to wear on gamedays. I have since deemed it unlucky and will not wear it on gamedays anymore. Other than that, no.
September 23rd, 2021 at 11:19 AM ^
Absolutely! I wear the same shorts & pullover, all while sitting directly in front of the TV in my Michigan chair. To top it off, I position 2 Michigan Bears( appropriately named Desmond & Charles) right under the TV...... I may need help!
September 23rd, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
I'm convinced that the results on the field are altered based on whether or not I'm watching.
I'm actually not, but I still can't help thinking "hey, if I shut off the tv, they may start coming back".
Its a holdover from when I was a little kid.
September 23rd, 2021 at 12:27 PM ^
I don't eat nervous bird and I drink whole milk, on GameDay.
September 23rd, 2021 at 6:43 PM ^
I don't eat nervous bird...
Whew, dodged that one!
September 23rd, 2021 at 1:30 PM ^
I honestly feel if I don't watch the game the team doesn't do as well. Examples: Michigan Houston, basketball; Michigan UCLA, basketball; Michigan Army, football. There are others. You can argue with me about it but I won't believe you.
September 23rd, 2021 at 2:01 PM ^
I burned all my UM shit after the loss in 2006. I knew it was my fault for wasting my money on hats and sweatshirts like that.
Also: I drink ALOT on gameday to ensure to help the team win. It doesn't always work--but I can't be sure.