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Athletes will sometimes wear a certain piece of clothing or object on their arm or neck area because they believe it will help them play better in games, which is a lucky superstition.
According to businessinsider.com, former NBA player and legend Michael Jordan, wore his University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shorts under his Chicago Bull’s gameday shorts. Another athlete who believed in superstitions was former pitcher for the San Francisco Giants Steve Kline. Kline never washed his own hat and wore it every game.
Former Chicago Bears all-pro linebacker Brian Urlacher used to eat two chocolate chip cookies before every game.
UTEP athletes also have their own form of superstitions with a certain object they wear or have something they do to make them play better.
At least two UTEP football players had their own superstitions and rituals this season.
When speaking with senior running back Ronald Awatt, he explained he wore a bracelet that his teacher once gave him.
“I have a bracelet that one of my teachers from high school gave me, I have another one, I have a ‘what would Jesus do’ bracelet that I would wear before every game and that gets me locked in, and pretty much saying a prayer before every game,” Awatt said in an interview after practice on March 25.
Freshman tight end Wyatt Dyer also explained his superstitions and how it makes him play better. He elaborated by talking about how he catches the ball well when wearing a certain pack of gloves that he has worn since his high school days.
“I have this certain pack of gloves that I always wear, I’ve worn them since high school, and I play pretty well with them every time,” Dyer said.
There are plenty of athletes who claim they play better when following their normal ritual. Superstitions make some athletes play better and have a certain mindset that has them locked in and ready to not accept defeat.
A lot of these superstitions do have some type of effect on the athlete, both mentally and physically, seeing as they tend to perform better when the time comes.
Daniel Alec Lopez is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected].
