Informant: 51

Title: Lucky Number 27

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: M.W. Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• M.W. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Glendale, Arizona and spent this last term off campus living with friends.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: nothing cultural in his reasoning, just a preference
• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. When M.W. entered high school, he took on the same number that his father once wore. His father was a great athlete in high school, but his coach never helped him get recruited so he never ended up going. Wearing 27 is a reminder of his father and what he was not able to do, which has kept M.W. focused on his goal of playing football in college.

Item:

• His lucky number has been 27 since it was passed down to him from his father’s high school football days. He looks to carry on his legacy and accomplish everything that his father was not.

 

Transcript:

• “When I wear 27, I am reminded of him…..wearing 27 is me continuing his legacy and being accepted to college was exciting so 27 is really important to me.”

Collector’s Comments:

• I thought it was so cool that he was able to take on the responsibility of his dad’s legacy. Not only did he take it on, but he has exceeded expectations, now being a division one athlete at Dartmouth.

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko

 

 

Informant: 52

Title: Lucky Number 32

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: J.S Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• J.S. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Bluepell, Pennsylvania and spent this last term living at home with his family and taking remote classes.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: nothing cultural in his reasoning, just a preference
• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. J.S. has been wearing 32 for as long as he can remember. It was his Dad’s college football number, and now a student athlete at Dartmouth college, J.S. is looking to carry on the tradition.

Item:

• In hopes of carrying on his Dad’s legacy and playing college football himself, J.S. has worn 32 for as long as he can remember. He is excited to continue this tradition in college.

 

Transcript:

• “32 was my Dad’s college football number, and has been my number for sports for as long as I can remember, so it has always been a number that has meaning to me.”

Collector’s Comments:

• I think it it so awesome that he has been wearing 32 for over ten years, meanwhile never lost sight of the ultimate goal, and has accomplished it as well. It has to be so awesome to be wearing your father’s number in a division one uniform.

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko

 

 

Informant: 53

Title: Lucky Number 17

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: N.H. Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• N.H. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Green Bay, Wisconsin and spent this last term living in Florida with some friends.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: nothing cultural in his reasoning, just a preference
• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. N.H. was born on the seventeenth day of the month, which has since created a special stigma surrounding 17 for N.H. He has worn 17 for his entire high school and college career and loves how it looks.

Item:

• 17 has been special to N.H. since he was old enough to remember his birthday. He has worn it in every sport he has played, and looks to continue doing so in college. He also loves the aesthetic of the number and enjoys that there are very few other people who would call 17 lucky.

 

Transcript:

• “My birthday is on the seventeenth day of the month, I have worn seventeen for all of my high school and college football career,  it’s unique and I really like how it looks.”

Collector’s Comments:

• I thought it was really cool how N.H. takes pride in not only the number because of his birthday, but even more so for how unique it is. I really enjoyed this interview because it was the only 17 I came across.

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko

 

 

Informant: 54

Title: Lucky Number 2

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: G.M. Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• G.M. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Greenwich, Connecticut and spent this last term living off campus with teammates.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: nothing cultural in his reasoning, just a preference
• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. G.M. was born on May 2nd, and when he was a young boy, the quarterback at his high school wore number 2.  All he wanted was to be a great quarterback for his high school one day, and follow in the footsteps of the number 2 he looked up to.

Item:

• The number 2 has been special to G.M. since he was born, considering his birthday is May 2nd. What made it even more special was that the high school quarterback in his town wore number 2, and G.M. strived to be just like him.

 

Transcript:

• “My birthday is May 2nd, and when I was growing up, the quarterback at my high school wore 2”

Collector’s Comments:

• I think it is really awesome that G.M. has a lucky number in which he’s always been motivated by. It is definitely a cool combination of luck and motivation to have!

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko

 

 

Informant: 55

Title: Lucky Number 14

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: P.W. Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• P.W. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Marietta, Georgia and spent this last term off campus living with friends.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: nothing cultural in his reasoning, just a preference
• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. When P.W. started playing football in sixth grade, he was randomly assigned number 14. Since then, the number has stuck with him and he has worn it on every sports team he has ever been on, and uses it in all his usernames and passwords.

Item:

• P.W.’s lucky number is 14, but more because of fate than preference when he was younger. Since the moment in sixth grade it was given to him, he has only found a ton of success with it, and will keep using it hoping for the same outcomes in the future.

 

Transcript:

• “In sixth grade, 14 was given randomly to me by my football coaches, but from then on I have always worn it for sports and if I ever needed a number for a password or something I would use it.”

Collector’s Comments:

• I found this interview really cool because I have a lucky number for a similar similar reason. I was given 22 at a young age and have since just stuck with it and found a lot of success with it.

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko

 

 

Informant: 56

Title: Lucky Number 12

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: D.C. Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• D.C. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Frisco, Texas and spent this last term taking on off term and interning in his home town.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. D.C was born on the 12th day of the month, and since then has just felt like the number is his.
• Cultural Context: Being a spiritual person, he believes it was given to him by those greater than him, and he must embody it to the fullest extent as it is their wish.

Item:

• D.C.’s lucky number is 12 because it is not only the day he was born, but he feels that because of it, it is his god given right to wear 12 as his number.

 

Transcript:

• “It is the day that I was born, and I feel like it was the given to me by powers that are greater than me, and you can’t really change your birthday, so I feel like it was meant for me.”

Collector’s Comments:

• I really enjoyed this interview because I was really excited to find someone who’s reasoning is backed by cultural context, and more specifically spirits and religion.

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko

 

 

Informant: 57

Title: Lucky Number 25

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: E.N. Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• E.N. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Cincinatti, Ohio and spent this last term off campus living with friends.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: nothing cultural in his reasoning, just a preference
• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. Interestingly enough, both of E.N.’s parents were born on the 25th of a month. Considering he is their offspring, he always felt that 25 had to be his lucky number.

Item:

• E.N.’s lucky number is 25 because he is an only child, and the offspring of two parents whom share a birth date of the 25th. he actually wears 75 in football because it is triple his lucky number and there are three members in his family.

 

Transcript:

• “My mom was born on August 25th, and my dad was born on May 25th. I wear 75 for football because it is three times 25.”

Collector’s Comments:

• This interview was another one of my favorites because it was the only person that I interviewed who doesn’t wear their lucky number when playing. What makes it even cooler to me is that the number he does wear is still correlated with his lucky number.

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko

 

 

Informant: 58

Title: Lucky Number 78

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: L.G. Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• L.G. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Charlotte, North Carolina and spent this last term off campus living with friends.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: nothing cultural in his reasoning, just a preference
• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. When L.G. was in fifth grade, his older brothers best friend passed away from an accident on a spring break trip. He has worn his number since then and has found a ton of luck with it, winning championships in high school and at the collegiate level.

Item:

• L.G. wears 78 in an effort to honor his brother’s late best friend. He was an incredible football player and L.G. wanted nothing more than to follow in his footsteps.

 

Transcript:

• “When I was in fifth grade, my brother went on a spring break trip with his best friend who wore 78 on the football team. He had offers from almost ever college in the country, but there was unfortunately an accident on the trip in which he died, and I have worn 78 since then. It is my lucky number because I have won three states championships and one ivy league championship while wearing this number.”

Collector’s Comments:

• This had to be my favorite interview out of all of them because it was easily the most meaningful reasoning and an incredible story that more people need to hear about!

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko

 

 

Informant: 59

Title: Lucky Number 2

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: W.E. Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• W.E. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Manhattan, New York and spent this last term off campus living with friends.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: nothing cultural in his reasoning, just a preference
• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic. There has just been something special about the number 2 for W.E. from the start, and it is not quite easy to put into words. He loves it for reasons that are not only hard to explain but even harder to feel. W.E. just has such a positive and awesome association with it that its became his number over time.

Item:

• W.E.’s lucky number is 2 for many subjective reasons, but ultimately because of his positive and important association with it. It is his go to, and that will likely never change as he uses it to regulate things in his life like staying organized and going over things twice.

 

Transcript:

• “I have always liked it and that is a little more nebulous; I like the symmetry, putting things in pairs, double checking things, doing things more than once, things that are repeatable. I also wore it for any sports team I played on. I have always liked it for less defined reasons but now have a positive and significant association with it.

Collector’s Comments:

• This was another one of my favorite interviews because I was pleased to find someone who has thought so in depth about their lucky number, and is completely aware of its significance.

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko

 

 

Informant: 60

Title: Lucky Number 13

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Lucky Number Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Z.C. Male
• Date Collected: November 4, 2020

Informant Data:

• Z.C. is a member of the class of 2023 and the football team as well. He resides in Tampa, Florida and spent this last term off campus living with friends.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This interview was recorded over the phone due to the pandemic.
• Cultural Context: The number 13 is thought to be unlucky by many cultures across the world, especially in America. This derives from the bible, which is why 13 is universally known as unlucky. Z.C. takes pride in that, and loves how it is lucky to him while everyone else hates it.

Item:

• Z.C. chose 13 as his lucky number because it is universally regarded as unlucky. He takes pride in loving a number that most fear, and loves making it his lucky number because of how everyone else feels about it.

 

Transcript:

• “People always say unlucky number 13 and I kind of like the idea of having a number that everyone fears and nobody likes and I think that makes me special and unique.”

Collector’s Comments:

• I thought Z.C. had a really cool interview because of how unique it was. My group did happen to find that 13 was the most unlucky number from interviewed participants, so it is so cool that it still ended up as a lucky number too.

Collector’s Name: Zack Milko