I think anyone who has ever been a sports fan has superstitions. Their “do’s and dont’s”, and game day rituals they follow. This, I’m sure holds true with the teams we support as well.
Earlier this week it was reported that the Washington Capitals were now considered to be the Stanley Cup favorites. Upon hearing this, Caps Nation did a collective “Oh no”, seemingly not wanting to hear or read anything that showcased the team as the frontrunner. Is it because the team has had a history of playoff failures, or did the news for fans cross into the “bad juju” category?
I, for one, admit I have my own superstitions when it comes to the team. My most shared one with fellow Caps’ fans is not washing any of my jerseys for the entire regular season and post season (for however long it lasts). Luckily for me I very rarely eat or drink anything at the games (mostly because I get so into the games I physically can’t do either), so they don’t have that game day worn look.
My game day rituals are tame in comparison to some I have read about. My adult children laugh at what I do on game days and will surely roll their eyes, or I will get a “really mom?”, for sharing in such a public manner, but aren’t we all just one big happy hockey family?
For home games, my attire is always a pair of red underwear (I clearly wear more than that); I could use the term “unmentionable”, but since I just put it out there, wouldn’t it be called a mentionable? My husband and I always sit in the same seats every game day; I’m always to his right, it never changes even if we have friends joining us in our section.
On this off day for the boys I would love to read about your superstitions and/or game day rituals. One thing we as fans need to remember is to NEVER vilify another person for things they may do that you feel messes with the “hockey gods.” This team has been able to do so many things this year that no one ever thought they were capable of accomplishing. Is it disappointing they lost on home ice last night, absolutely, but we all need to remember this series wasn’t going to be an easy one.
I believe this team is something special and the resiliency and determination that got them this far will continue to help them go even further. In interviews I have heard many of the players continuously talk about “everyone pulling on the rope”; let’s figuratively pull on it too.
By Lisa Desabrais
