Madden Curse

The Rundown: 5 Bizarre Superstitions in Sports

You can’t talk sports without talking about superstitions. Athletes are some of the most superstitious people around…changing their driving route to the stadium if they had a bad game or growing out facial hair for the playoffs. Therefore, we bring you five of the more unique superstitions we’ve heard of, purely for your enjoyment.


Things are going to get weird,

The Last Night’s Game Team  


FIVE BIZARRE SUPERSTITIONS IN SPORTS

  1. Head coach of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Nick Saban, fuels his fire with a Little Debbie Oatmeal Crème Pie before each game

  2. Basketball great Michael Jordan wore the North Carolina Tar Heels shorts that he had on when he won the college basketball national championship underneath his Chicago Bulls (NBA - National Basketball Association) uniform.  

  3. Hockey’s Sidney Crosby has so many ‘traditions’ that we can’t list them all. Some include wearing the same jock strap for years and not calling/seeing his mom or his sister on game day. He swears every time he does, he gets injured. 

  4. The golden thong was worn by former MLB (Major League Baseball) player Jason Giambi to help him break out of hitting slumps. Rumor has it that said tiny undergarment was left in the lockers of his teammates and they all began to hit well. (We warned you it would get weird).

  5. The curse of the cover of the Madden video game is a well-known folk tale. Many of the NFL (National Football League) players featured were ‘cursed’ with a horrible season or a season ending injury after appearing on the front of the video game. Quarterback Tom Brady is on the cover of this year’s game. Hopefully his irrational fear won’t get the best of him otherwise they’ll be holding a séance at Gillette Stadium.   

OVERTIME

  • Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook (NBA) won the regular season MVP on Monday night. In his acceptance speech we saw an emotional side of Westbrook. To top off the night, he also won the inaugural Best Style AwardHere’s how you can dress like Westbrook.

SIDELINE STAT

COACHES’ CORNER

  • Since it’s baseball season, here are two universal superstitions you should know about in the game.

  1. Ball players do not step on the foul lines (the white lines that run down the first and third baseline) when entering/exiting the field for fear of bad luck.

  2. Never discuss a no-hitter or perfect game while it’s in progress. (A no-hitter means no offensive player gets a hit and a perfect game means no offensive player gets on base). Don’t be like Martha Stewart whose tweet allegedly jinxed a New York Yankees perfect game earlier in the season.

The Rundown: Soccer, Football and Earthquakes! Oh my!

It’s Friday!  

Mic drop,

The Last Night’s Game Team  

PS - Now that your Thanksgiving leftovers have been demolished, here's an easy Tailgate Treat to fill bellies at a football game or holiday party. 


NCAA Football (College)

  • Almost there. This weekend is when the College Football Conference Championships take place. This means conference teams play for the winning title and hopefully a better postseason bowl game. There are too many big games for us to cover so you can find out the scoop on each game here.  

NFL (National Football League)

  • I put a spell on you. New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski is out for the season as he will undergo back surgery today. Fans believe his injury is due to the “Madden Curse” which refers to the Madden Football video game. In the history of the video game, a significant number of players who were featured on the cover of the game have suffered season ending injuries. Although this is Gronkowski’s third back surgery by the ripe old age of 27.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

  • All hail King James. LeBron James has been named Sports Illustrated's "2016 Sportsperson of the Year.” He joins Tiger Woods as the only athlete to receive this honor twice. James was named not only for bringing the City of Cleveland its first major professional sports team championship in 52 years with the Cavaliers, but for his outstanding efforts in the community.

Soccer

  • Futbol fun. The biggest rivalry in soccer takes place on Saturday between Spain’s top two teams - Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. These two teams are led by the biggest stars in soccer - Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) and Lionel Messi (Barcelona). The game, known as “El Classico,” is being played for the 114th year. Madrid currently holds a big lead over Barcelona in league standings. Want more? Click here.  

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • Welcome home. Major League Baseball agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association to avoid a lockout (i.e. a strike). One of the main points in the agreement removed awarding World Series home-field advantage to the winning league in the All-Star Game. Now that will be decided by the team in the World Series with the best record.

Overtime

  • There’s a new trend in football - tents on the sideline and no they aren’t for camping. During the Monday night game Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (NFL) mysteriously went inside the sideline tent. The tent is designed so team trainers can treat players’ injuries without TV cameras, fans or other teams seeing what’s wrong. That’s strategery. (SNL version of Bush…anyone)? The tent was introduced by University of Alabama who began using it at the beginning of the season and the idea spread like wildfire. Check it out. 

Sideline stat

  • Geologists measured the ground vibrations during last week’s Ohio State – Michigan football game. The two teams' fans we’re so rowdy and created so much seismic activity during the double overtime game that it registered as a 5.79 earthquake

Coaches’ Corner

  • Major League Baseball players have participated in a strike before. The last lockout in baseball was the 1994 season. Yes, the whole season was cancelled.