Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio
Most of us understand that there is no such thing as luck. Some people believe in good luck and bad luck, but for most people, it is just an amusing way to have fun. We direct our faith into an object that we carry or wear.
We create a habit, or target a particular way we did something and decide that is why something good happened, and from then on, we repeat that action in the name of claiming to activate our lucky charm.
Below, we will share with you some of the unusual rituals which some very successful people adopt every time they are called on to perform. You will see some good luck rituals used by famous athletes. You might even see some that you do yourself.
Beyonce has a pre-show ritual that she does every time she is going to perform. This ritual goes on for a few hours. Ritual or no ritual, Beyonce’ is a major success, and she puts on one heck of a show. Here is the ritual:
In 1982 Michael Jordan scored the winning jump shot for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. This was the First NCAA Championship since 1957. From then into his NBA days he wore his UNC shorts under his team shorts for luck. His habit of wearing his shorts longer to cover the shorts he had under his uniform directly led to the basketball uniform changing to the longer shorts for all the players.
Tennis Olympic Medalist, and record-breaker for the number grand slam titles, Serena Williams has her own rituals before a match. Williams is careful to lace and ties her shoes exactly the same way before each match. Throughout the tournament, she will wear the same pair of socks. While playing, Williams bounces a ball 5 times before her first serve and she bounces a ball 2 times before her second serve.
It is said baseball players are the kings and queens of good luck charms and rituals. However, you will rarely hear any of them. That is because there is a major superstition that sharing their good luck charms or rituals with anyone will break their power.
Minor League Baseball Player Willy Yahn did not believe that applied to him. His ritual was to wear a long sleeve under his uniform shirt no matter the season or the temperature.
NHL goalie and Hall of Famer, Patrick Roy had several pre-game rituals that he put into action. First, he would start in the center ice and skate backward to the net, turning to face it at the last second. He stated that this would “shrink the goal” and give him a new perspective. His next habit was to always step over the cracks on the ice. Finally, he would never sweep snow in his own goal. He was known to talk to the pipes during the breaks.
NBA Guard Jason “Jet” Terry, former sixth man of the year has spent a few years as a journeyman. He travels from team to team teaching young players. There is one superstition he does not keep a secret. He says it has served him well and he has no intention of stopping. The night before a game, Jett always wears an authentic pair of the opponent’s shorts to bed. Not the commercial ones you can buy at a gift shop. The real deal. It may be a strange choice of pajamas, but he says they work for him.
3-time NBA All-Star, 3-time member of the All-NBA Team, and was voted the NBA Most Improved Player in the 2002–03 season. His superstition was not about basketball. Arenas played the lottery. He always played at the same store and he always played the same numbers.
One night he was rushing to get to the store but luck was not on his side. He realized that his car was out of gas and he only had $10 on him. He pulled into a gas station and spotted a homeless man. The man asked him for some change.
Arenas explained that he only had $10 and he was rushing to get to his favorite store to play the lottery before it closed. He offered a compromise gentleman said that it was okay. He just asked him to bring him $20 when he won. You can read the whole story here. Arenas’ numbers were bet that night and they won. His prize was $300,000.
We all have our little superstitions. Most of us don’t really believe that crossing our fingers will bring us luck, but we do it anyway just because we feel better wishing extra hard. Many of us go online to place our bets and to play our casino games.
We know we are safer by playing from our homes and we know the jackpots are just as big as the lotteries we see in our shops. Sites like Lottoland allow us to bet on the results of those games and we can choose our “lucky numbers” just like Arenas did. Will you win? Who knows? But you can go to the site and see a lot of people who have.
So, if you feel like you have some worn sock that helps you win, or if wearing a long sleeve shirt makes you feel like a winner, go for it. You might be the next Lottoland winner!