5 Superstitions from the World of Sports

With Halloween only 91 days away, I felt a little spook in my step this morning. So it only made sense to talk about some superstitions in the world of sports. We all have that thing we do for good luck, that ritual we can't miss, for me I eat three Honey Buns before every Bears game ever since the 06 season. Here are five other superstitions, and tell me what your game day ritual is in the comments.

Mike Bibby Clips Fingernails During Timeouts

During his NBA career, point guard Mike Bibby's nervous habit of biting his nails took on a life of its own. He was often spotted on the bench ferociously gnawing on his nails—obsessively picking at them and making everyone around him nervous in the process.

Eventually he figured out a way to streamline the picking and center himself via the use of nail clippers. It got to the point where every time Bibby parked his butt on the bench, someone would hand him a set of nail clippers so he could immediately get down to the other business at hand—addressing his cuticle situation.


I Want You to Hit Me as Hard as You Can
There's nothing scarier than a large man who actually gains strength by being beaten on. But that's exactly what forever Jaguars defensive tackle John Henderson is. At 6'7 and upwards of 350 pounds, Henderson could be described as nothing short of a monster.

And this monster had a very particular way of getting psyched up for a game. Henderson would have a Jags assistant trainer straight up b*tch slap him across the face, as hard as possible. I guess if someone that big demands you smack him across the face, there's nothing you can do but smack him across the face.

Les Miles Goes Goat

LSU coach Les Miles is one of the most colorful characters in all of sports. With his lively press conferences and friendly disposition, he's kind of the anti-Nick Saban. Seriously—try to picture Nick Saban munching on grass he picked from the football field during pre-game activities. You can't, can you?

It's much easier to picture Les Miles munching on grass he picked from the football field during pre-game activities, because we've actually seen him do it. Miles said his pre-game ritual "humbles (him) as a man" and that "it lets (him) know that (he's) part of the field and part of the game." Alrighty then.

Want to know which grass tastes the best? Well, it's the grass in Tiger Stadiumduh. Of course he'd say that—he may be a little crazy, but he's certainly not stupid!

Brian Urlacher's Secret to Success

Prior to Super Bowl XLI in Miami, the pre-game ritual of Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was revealed to the public. It doesn't involve crushing skulls or busting heads or anything else you might imagine a future Hall of Fame linebacker does to prepare for a football game. Urlacher likes to keep things chill in the hours leading up to a big game.

In the morning, he unwinds for an hour by watching his favorite fishing show on television. Once he gets to the stadium, Urlacher zones out and listens to music for awhile. And he always like to enjoy a pre-game snack—two cookies, preferably of the chocolate-chip variety.

Kevin Rhomberg Wasn't an Ambi-Turner

Apparently retired major leaguer Kevin Rhomberg was an exceptionally superstitious guy, at least according to former pitcher Rich Mahler who confessed that Rhomberg was the single most superstitious player he had ever encountered. Mahler said that if anyone touched Rhomberg, he would have to touch him back.

Which is kind of strange, but not nearly as strange as the fact that Rhomberg refused to make a right turn on the diamond. Apparently he shunned the right turn because when you're running bases, you're only turning left. I guess turning right would throw off the natural order of things?