An Athlete’s Lucky Charm

I am not an athlete, but I enjoy a good basketball or baseball game. One of the things that fascinates me about athletics is the event of the game. At times it can be like watching live theater.  The following is an article I wrote. Enjoy!

The Lucky Charm of an Athlete

Figure skater, Michelle Kwan, always wears a good luck, gold dragon pendant given to her by her grandmother. Other athletes have sworn by lucky socks, t-shirts, and wearing a particular number jersey. Do these rituals work for athletes? Why do athletes engage in good luck charms and superstitions?

Why Rituals?

A ritual mentally prepares athletes for events by allowing the athlete’s mind to quiet down and focus. A ritual can help an athlete deal with the pressure of the “big game” by giving them a sense of consistency. Rituals help athletes know that one event is not more important than another event. For example, you might see a basketball player at a free throw line engaging in a certain routine before throwing the ball. The athlete is replacing any negative thoughts with positive thoughts while relaxing, and minimizing the chance for a missed shot.

Rituals such as good luck charms or wearing the right jersey number usually evolve from an early game or event in an athlete’s career that was won or played well. For example, a college basketball player who wins a championship game might always wear some part of that uniform in future games. Such as basketball legend Michael Jordon always wore his college team shorts beneath his professional uniform.

Rituals and superstitions also give athletes a sense of confidence. For example, Olympic skier, Picabo Street, nicknamed her skis. She won a silver medal in the downhill at the 1994 games on a pair of skies named “Olys,” and once she named her skies, “Willys” because she needed to will herself to victory. She even had a pair of skis named Ah-nolds and believed they would give her the strength of Arnold Schwarzenegger!

Athletes and Their Charms

• Long track speed skater, Derek Parra, eats a pack of Fig Newtons the night before he races
• Short track speed-skater, Apolo Ohno, always brings an old t-shirt with “No Pain. No Gain” on the front
• Snowboarder, Hannah Teter, listens to an Ipod while she rides
• Olympic moguls skier, Hannah Kearney, wears her hair in two braids adorned with flowers
• Hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, tucked in the right side of his jersey

So, the next time you watch an athlete perform, you can be pretty sure that somewhere before the big game that athlete has engaged in a ritual or is wearing a good luck charm!

This I Believe

I was visiting Orcas Island this past weekend. During my visit, I stumbled across this book:

This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

 

What is This I Believe?

 

This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values that guide their daily lives. These short statements of belief, written by people from all walks of life, are archived here and featured on public radio in the United States and Canada, as well as in regular broadcasts on NPR. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow.

Read the book and then write your own “This I Believe Essay.”