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Monday, April 22, 2013

Superstitions

I have this #9 Mike Modano hockey jersey.  Every time I wore it during his time with the Stars they played poorly.  So, I hung it up and didn't touch it until Mike retired.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem the bad luck ended with his career and I'm worried I might not ever get to actually wear the jersey during hockey season.  I'm looking for a ritual to lift the curse. At least I have my Ed Belfour goalie jersey. It doesn't seem to effect things one way or another.
I also have a formerly cursed bracelet which seems to effect Graeme McDowell's play.  I love this bracelet and sometimes wear it even though I know it might have a negative impact.  On the plus side, I say formerly because I seem to have found the cure.  I was in Orlando last week and was at Graeme's restaurant.  My friend was drinking a Guinness when I got this idea.  We bought a Guinness Black--thinking the dark would be stronger against dark mojo--and poured it over the bracelet , said a few words, and let it soak for a while.  Then we dumped the beer. It did tarnish the copper a bit, but the bracelet still looks good.
Ok, so did we really believe we were lifting the curse off a bracelet?  No, it was just us being silly. 
But then, Sunday Graeme did win his first major this season.  It's hard to argue with that, right?
Superstitions are weird, because rationally we know we really aren't doing anything special to effect an outcome, but we can't help ourselves.  We wear the lucky shirt to the interview.  We don't say  "it's quiet" on a shift.  We avoid ladders and get nervous when a mirror breaks.  Some have history, some don't make any sense.  Maybe it's about control.  Who knows?  It's where rationality meets magic.
It's what's making me wonder how much beer it takes to soak a hockey jersey.

You know you have superstitions.  What are some that come to mind? Why do you think you have them? 

1 comment:

  1. I'm not really superstitious, and yet I did hesitate the other day when going near a ladder...and decided not to walk under it :)

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