Superstitions

Where the heck do superstitions come from? I poke fun at my wife all the time because she has tons of them. I'm not religious and I have a logical, scientific mindset in almost all ways...except when it comes to sports. And, yes, I know that makes no sense. Yet somehow I do seem to be able to predict sporting results (that matter to me) more often than not, based upon my sporting superstitions.

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to other sport enthusiasts at work and I explained to them why Peyton Manning was going to finally win his second Super Bowl. I explained how my sporting luck was on a huge roll. My Red Sox had just won the World Series. My Arizona Wildcats basketball team was undefeated and #1 in the country for the second straight month. And Peyton Manning had just won the AFC championship handily over my Patriots (note, I am not a Denver fan, but ever since the Colts booted Manning, I have wanted Manning to win a SB in order to show the Colts organization what a mistake they made). All sports that mattered to me were rolling in the right way.

Then Saturday came. In the second minute of a game against Cal-Berkeley, Arizona's third leading scorer Brandon Ashley broke his foot and was suddenly gone for the season. Arizona still nearly continued their unbeaten streak, but lost on a last second shot. Here's where my sporting superstition kicked in--now I knew Manning would lose the Super Bowl, because the dam had broken on my sporting luck! I would have gladly bet money on it if I had a means to do so.

I wasn't shocked at all when the very first snap of the game went all wrong and turned into points for Seattle. I just said to myself, 'Yep, now it starts, just like I thought.'  I turned the game off before halftime and went to bed rather than continue to watch a pointless exercise--no matter how great Manning is, there is no way he could overcome the dam breaking on my sporting luck!

Sorry Peyton, it was all over for you the second Brandon Ashley came down wrong on his foot the day before!