Sports superstitions extend across all genres of games and are practiced by fans and players alike. A hockey goalie and a quarterback go through drastically diverse warm up routines before a game, but it is likely that each has a very particular—and often quirky—pregame ritual.
Fans, in a futile attempt to believe that they can in some way affect the outcome of the game, have similar superstitions. Outlandish or ordinary, fans have done their part in ensuring their team a victory once these tasks are fulfilled. And if this particular ritual is not followed and their team loses, attribute the L not to poor play or a missed call, but to the fact that one aficionado did not throw away his ticket or wear the proper t-shirt.
Last Sunday the Hershey Bears did something that they have not done since Nov. 28—lose a game at home.
And, as fate would have it, last Sunday a fan close to my heart did something she has not done since Nov. 28—not have a Magic Hat beer before a home game.
Now it was not this fan’s blunder that a Magic Hat 9 was not consumed before the game. The Friday prior to The Loss she learned that the Giant Center was replacing her beloved beer with a less felicitous beverage. That’s when we knew the streak was in jeopardy.
The blessing of the Magic Hat was a windfall of sorts and was a tradition that garnered its roots in last year’s Calder Cup playoffs. The No. 9 started to be drunk at games; the Bears won. It continued to be consumed; the Bears won a Calder Cup.
The equation was as easy as one-plus-one. Drink Magic Hat. Win games. How dare a fan even consider breaking such a profitable tradition?
So the superstition lived on until Sunday, the evening that just happened to end a league-record winning streak.
Now those with a more, shall I say, reasonable mind would attribute the loss to more tangible circumstances. Poor refereeing, poor defense, an overall lack of energy by the home team, an opponent that has caused the Bears headaches all season. These are all logical reasons for the loss.
But superstitions are illogical, which is what makes fandom such an obsessive pastime. For the Bears sake, however, let’s hope that the curse of the Magic Hat was broken tonight. Or that some superstition is able to take its place before Friday night.
