Win,

Your Dead Cat Bounce was a legendary routine of your own creation. No need to be modest. Resurrect it at any time, please.

I’m well aware of superstition and ritual in sports, Gretsky tucking his shirt in on the left side, Roy wouldn’t skate over a painted line on the rink (and would not sign a puck as I found out in person one time in Denver), and football players have a multitude of theirs as well. It does serve a valuable function because the athlete knows that in spite of dedicating all of their time preparing themselves for specific goals, the results are usually completely out of their control. So they have to deal with an unforgiving set of circumstances and prepare themselves mentally to perform at the highest possible level.

So what Dave and Kevin are saying, of course, is correct from that point of view, not as the athlete, but as the fan. It’s a generations old ritual and its bad luck to diverge from that familiar pattern. I do agree with them, actually, and I did razz the crap of out of them anyway, just cause they weren’t here to defend themselves. (But I’m already looking over my shoulder waiting for the well deserved pay back time!).

We’ve been on edge for the entire month of December and half of January and now we have vanquished almost all of our deadly foes, the Packers, the Seahawks were taken out, the Giants and Cowboys are nowhere in sight. We have one NFC opponent left. While this team is a formidable one, it no longer gives any of us anxiety attacks. Everyone has related how they deal with the stress of upcoming games or how they manage nerves during games.

The Packers were especially tough in that department because of the history of the rivalry going back to 1995. Finally we vanquish that foe! What a relief. It took 17 years for us to finally best them, though there was The Catch II game in Jan 1999.

Now here we are. Let loose a bit. Release some of that tension that built up over the past 6 or 7 weeks. Damn the torpedoes.

Then we had that fake Quarterback Controversy. Useless, painful, unnecessary agonizing over nothing. And then Akers. Man, I’m not going to be buried in all that. Let it go.

Of all these athletes who do engage in these superstitious rituals, this does benefit them psychologically but not us. There’s no prescribed routine for us that will improve our chances. This is virtual tailgating. It’s party time for what we have accomplished and the prestigious game we will be playing.

It’s not a prognostication. No one’s got a crystal ball.

But that last game as bp and Mo are saying and watching half dozen times was euphoric. It’s a beautiful thing to behold and at the same time remove the source of all that anxiety.

So Fie on convention, I say!

Everyone handles stress in different ways. Some are Stoic at times and others are celebrating the Packer game still. I'm just happy as hell all that crap is behind us!

Superstition rules in Sports but for the athlete. For us it’s all Entertainment.

What are your pre-game rituals?

Last Edited By: GT49er 01/18/13 12:00 AM. Edited 1 times.