By Lizzy Coons
Jessica Stephens makes the pre-game meal she believes she must eat before a game.
Bellarmine athletes have many superstitions: from listening to a specific song to eating a certain meal to putting on their clothes in a specific order.
A superstition arises when an athlete has a particularly good (or bad) performance then tries to establish cause and effect by going over what exactly they did that day, according to Elizabeth Quinn in an article published by Verywell Fit titled, “Why so Many Athletes Have Superstitions and Rituals.”
Jessica Stephens, a junior on the golf team, said, “Every morning when I am eating breakfast I always eat some type of egg, some type of sausage, and some type of oatmeal then I will play well.” Stephens said she is convinced that if she eats a different meal, she will not perform as well.
Junior golfer Bryce Beard’s superstition revolves around a putting ritual.
“When I get to the practice putting green, the first thing I do is pick a hole and circle around the hole putting from three feet out. I then must make either three or six 3-footers in a row only using my right hand and then do the same thing but with my left hand,” he said.
Bellarmine baseball redshirt sophomore Cody Medley has a strict order of putting on his uniform before a game.
“My main superstition is that I have to put on my uniform in a specific order before every game,” he said. “For example, my left sock always has to go on first and then the right, everytime.”
Julia Downing, a first-year student on the field hockey team, needs to listen to music before games. “My gameday superstition is I listen to the same pump-up music before I play any game,” she said.
Another first-year field hockey player, Alicia Hudson, has a special jewelry item she must wear in each game. “My gameday superstition is that I can't play without my necklace with my lucky number on it. I fully believe I would have a bad game if I didn't have it on,” she said.
Junior men’s soccer player Jack Fischer said he must wear something specific before playing. “My superstition is that I always have to wear my Apple watch during
warm-ups,” Fischer said.
Red-shirt sophomore soccer player Andrew Blank said he must wear the same socks during every game. “I have to wear the same exact socks in every game.” He said it is not a part of his ritual to wear them dirty, so he washes them after every game.
Women's senior soccer player Zeniza Nava has a specific three-step routine she must follow.
“Don’t judge me, but I have three things I have to do at some point before every game: listen to a specific song, eat an apple and put my captain's band on for her,” she said.
But not all athletes have superstitions. Maddy Johnson, a junior on the track team, said she has never been a fan of having a superstition.
“I have never really had any superstitions when it came to playing sports,” she said. “I have really bad OCD in my actual life, so I have always tried to separate that from my sports and not have to worry about superstition.”
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