SPORTS SUPERSTITIONS

To be a sports champion you have to have lots of skills and dedication. But a little bit of luck is always useful, too. That may be why so many professional sportsmen and sportswomen have their little superstitions and rituals.

Tom Daley: Tom Daley was only seven when he took up diving. In 2008, he became one of the youngest people ever to take part in an Olympic event, competing in the diving competition. The British diver has a lucky mascot which he takes with him every time he has a competition. He always puts the mascot on top of his sports bag where he can see him from up on the diving board and in case you’re wondering the mascot is a monkey. It doesn’t have a name. “He is just my lucky monkey.” says Daley. “I know he probably isn’t lucky but I have been taking him with me for a long time and I don’t want to stop doing it.”

Cassie Patten: And he isn’t the only sports personality with a special mascot. Cassie Patten is a British Olympic swimmer. Every time she goes away to a swimming competition, she has to put her teddy bear, Rainbow, and her clown, Sniffy, into bed at her home before she leaves.

Ben Ainslie: Then take Ben Ainslie. He is one of the Britain’s best sailors ever. He has won an Olympic Gold medal in the consecutive Olympic games. It was quite natural that he should win a gold medal in Beijing in 2008. Ben’s superstition was perfect for competing in China. His superstition is that before each race he always has to eat a Chinese meal.

Michael Jordan: Clothes are often important for sports stars too. Michael Jordan, one of the greatest American basketball players of all time, played many matches for the Chicago Bulls. But whenever he went on court to play a professional match he always wore a pair of blue shorts under his other shorts. These were the shorts that he wore at the University of North Carolina. The University of North Carolina was the place where Jordan started playing seriously. After winning lots of matches with them, he felt that they gave him luck. Incidentally, this superstition started a fashion because he wore two pair of shorts, the second pair had to be especially long to cover the others. People started copying him. That is one reason why basketball shorts are so long and baggy today.

Patrick Roy: What about ice hockey? Well, even big strong ice hockey players have their superstitions. Patrick Roy was a great player who came from Canada. He was a goaltender. Goaltenders are the players whose job is to stop the other team from scoring. He used to talk to his goal posts during the game. “They are my friends,” he explained. In the ring he never stood on the red or blue lines. Before a game, when he was warming up, he always skated out to the blue line and looked at the goal. He then started to visualize the goal getting smaller and smaller.