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What’s Your Hockey Superstition?
by Alanah McGinley on 04/26/07 at 03:04 PM ET
Comments (14)
I don’t know about anyone else, but I pick up some odd (read: moronic) superstitious habits during NHL Playoff time. Some of them are sort of sane (i.e. wearing some Canucks hat, jersey, etc.), and some of them are not-so-sane (i.e. “If I use this font type on my blog, will that have a positive or negative impact on the state of Matt Cooke’s groin?"). And so on. It gets a bit nuts.
Fortunately I’m not alone in my obsessive behavior. Devin, who frequently comments on this blog, sent me an entertaining accounting of his own superstitious preoccupations today:
I just figured it out, these flags were on my truck…we’ve never won the cup while these flags were on my truck. Like an idiot, I just kept putting them on my truck and we kept on not winning the cup (to say nothing of this series). So for next game, they are on my bike.
Ok, revised theory, prior to the Game 7 victory, I rode my bike around town a bit (with flags proudly flying)...and we won. Yesterday (prior to the loss) I didn’t ride the bike at all. So it would seem that I need to not only put the flags on the bike, but that I must ride around town the day of the game as well.
Man I hope I don’t have to remember anything else about that day...like what socks I was wearing, or where I rode the bike...this could become a logistical nightmare.
So now we know who to blame if things go wrong. But to Devin’s credit, he’s got the bike set up and ready to go now. Is everyone else doing their part?
Filed in: playoff hockey, vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Comments
Well given that during the Season the Leafs would win whenever I wore my aqua Leafs T-Shirt, and that I’m going to game 3 on Sunday, I just picked up a Canucks t-shirt to wear to the game. I hope it works… the boyfriend’s in a much better mood when the Canucks win, especially when Trevor plays well.
On a side note, when are we female hockey fans going to cause a revolution in the NHL’s female hockey merchandise? Pink and sparkly makes me less likely to buy it, people! Come on!
Posted by Karina on 04/26/07 at 03:17 PM ET
Oh man...you opened a can of worms with this one. Not only do we have to wear the same clothes, but my wife and I have the same seats. When the Canucks got up 4-2 in Game 1 against the stars, our dog jumped on my lap. Dallas promptly scored 2 goals. He hasn’t seen my lap during a game since!
When we had the shutout streak going, even switching seats wasn’t enough to breawk the curse. So we decided to sit next to each other. Canucks were pressing, but still not scoring. Somehow in our cuddle my hand ended up in her armpit! She asked me to move, but I jokingly said “wait a minute, maybe they’ll score.”
Boom, Trevor scores! My hand never left her pit the rest of the game!
Posted by Jeff on 04/26/07 at 03:32 PM ET
Good grief! Groins, crack habits, sparkly T-shirts and armpits… us hockey fans are a deranged bunch. 
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 04/26/07 at 04:52 PM ET
I have to wear my favorite earrings, which I wear every day anyway, but I have to make sure the silver is polished before the game. I’m not a really superstitious person, so most of my game rituals are coping mechanisms. I need to have comfort food at hand, I need to have the remote available so I can mute if things aren’t going well, and I need to have some project around to keep my hands busy or I cross my fingers so hard that they hurt the next morning. If things are really not going well, then I change to the History Channel or the Discovery Channel and wait a couple minutes, then flip channels really quickly to see if anyone scored.
Posted by Baroque on 04/26/07 at 05:03 PM ET
Alanah, gotta thank you for posting this...I am feeling more and more normal with every additional post
Posted by Dev from Victoria on 04/26/07 at 05:18 PM ET
Indeed. There’s something soothing about knowing we’re all nutcases.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 04/26/07 at 07:15 PM ET
When the Flames made it to the finals a few years ago, I believed that if I ate Swiss Chalet wings every game night they would win. On the nights that I didn’t eat them, they did lose so I decided to stick with my plan. I am not kidding you - I gained 40 pounds. I was still wearing maternity clothes so I didn’t notice too quickly but I am still trying to lose the rest. My husband gained 27 pounds. I’m actually pretty disgusted just writing this, but you asked. My kids actually blamed me for the Flames being eliminated last week because I wouldn’t repeat the ritual (they were joking, of course).
Posted by Jeanne from CALGARY on 04/27/07 at 12:48 AM ET
Ever read a book called Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby (yes, it was turned into an awful Jimmy Fallon movie later on)? It’s about English soccer, but I guarantee every sports fan can relate to it. I particularly like his one good luck ritual involving going to a specific shop, a piece of candy, and a car. It’s a bit convoluted to explain, but trust me, there’s nuts like us everywhere. That’s comforting and scary at the same time.
Posted by Mike Chen on 04/27/07 at 08:26 PM ET
I can actually talk about this one now, because I specifically don’t engage in it anymore:
Last season (when I smoked), the only thing I’d ever smoke were the Camel Exotic Blends--specifically, Camel Twist. It couldn’t be anything else. It had to be the Twists. “Twist For The Win.” I tried to quit twice during the season, and each time I tried the ‘Canes would go on a four-game schneid. I was so ready to quit by the time June 19th rolled around that I was only too happy to put the pack and the lighter down when it was all over.
What, me superstitious? Never!
Posted by The Acid Queen from R'lyeh, the Sunken City on 04/28/07 at 06:49 AM ET
Mike -- I’ve never read the book, just saw the bad movie and don’t remember it. “A bit convoluted to explain” sounds like a lot of these rituals.
AQ -- Wouldn’t it be horrible to think that the shock of you quitting smoking cold turkey last June caused them to miss the playoffs this season??!! (kidding, kidding, I swear!)
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 04/28/07 at 10:19 AM ET
Here’s what worked for me in the playoffs last year. The exact same thing every time.
Obviously, the beard. 63 days without shaving or grooming. And I’m normally a clean-shaven guy.
The same Hurricanes underwear. The same pair of black socks, the same pair of jeans, the same t-shirt, the Vasicek sweater, the same pair of shoes.
Brats and my homemade chili in the parking lot. Every time. And Beer. I would always have exactly four Bass Ale in the parking lot.
Game one of each series, I bought a sweater pin for that series at the tiny gift shop just outside my section.
No beer during the first period. During the first intermission, one Highland Oatmeal Porter (it’s a North Carolina thing).
Popcorn at the second intermission.
It worked for me last season.
Posted by David Lee from North Carolina on 04/28/07 at 11:47 AM ET
Wouldn’t it be horrible to think that the shock of you quitting smoking cold turkey last June caused them to miss the playoffs this season??!!
Oh gods, don’t say that--it’ll cause me to have an existential meltdown or something (especially because the Season From Hell came while I was quit the first time)! O.O
Posted by The Acid Queen from R'lyeh, the Sunken City on 04/28/07 at 01:06 PM ET
We all know that we sometime follow “insane” patterns of thinking, but have too much fun doing it to stop. I don’t blame you for your superstitions at all!
Posted by Motorcycle Fairings on 09/04/08 at 09:35 AM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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Other Canucks Blogs
i have to wear my luongo jersey. they’ve won games when I’ve worn it.
I wore it yesterday but I was also smoking a hookah. So maybe I should stop smoking, or the canucks will play like they’re on crack.
Posted by grey wall on 04/26/07 at 03:00 PM ET