Let me begin my column by apologizing.
I feel that I have let down both myself and Troy University.
This past weekend, I participated a in certain act of which I am not proud.
I shaved my beard.
At this point, a lot of you probably have stopped reading the column.
For those of you who know me, you all know how much I loved that beard. However, the time had come to part ways.
For those of you still reading who don’t know me, you’re probably wondering how my beard and Troy University are linked.
The answer, as crazy as it may sound, is that my beard has magical powers.
Case in point: The Steelers’ magical Super Bowl run happened when I was sporting a beard.
Next point, and this is where Troy comes in: Troy baseball’s improbable winning streak occurred during the same time I had a very “manly” beard.
Here’s the clincher: I shaved on Saturday, the same day Troy’s winning streak was snapped.
Coincidence?
I think not!
OK, so maybe my beard didn’t have magical powers.
However, as superstitious as I am, from now on I probably will not shave during any important event.
Superstitions are everywhere in the sports world, yet another reason why sports are so amazing.
They are those little things that must be done before every game.
If they aren’t done, or not done correctly, the outcome may not be good.
No player can escape superstitions either.
No matter how good a player is or was, they all have superstitions.
Take for example the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan.
Jordan always wore his blue North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform for good luck.
Out of all the sports, it seems baseball has the most superstitious players.
Hall of Famer Wade Boggs was well known for his superstitions.
He ate three chicken meals a day, which started when he had a good week in 1977 in the minor leagues.
He always had chicken at exactly 2:00.
He had to come out for batting practice at 5:17.
And the “Chicken Man” ran sprints for every night game at 7:17.
Former Mets reliever Turk Wendell brushed his teeth and chewed licorice between every inning.
Superstitions, as crazy as they may be, do a lot for a player’s psyche.
Most importantly, they relax the players.
Once players have completed their routine, the players feel more comfortable, and will probably feel more comfortable and confident during the game.
Once a great player is confident about the game in which he is about to play, the other team might as well not even show up.
So in my opinion, let the players do what they want, as long as it’s working.
They can eat all the chicken they want or touch their elbows and knees three times each.
As long as they put a ‘W’ on the board, I and the rest of the sports nation don’t care.