Title: Stepping on the Field

General Information about Item:

Genre: Customary Lore, Superstition

Country of Origin: Israel

Informant: OY

Date Collected: 10-28-21

Informant Data:

OY is a player on Dartmouth Men’s Soccer team in the Class of 2022 at Dartmouth. He was born in Israel and lived there until he was 10 years old. He played on a recreational soccer team there. He then moved to Boston when he was 10 with his family. He went to Brookline High School, but he played on a separate professional youth team called New England Revolution. His younger brother and sister also play soccer.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: One day, OY was watching the professional team Maccabi Haifa in Israel at the age of 9 (2009). He saw that a player ran onto the field with a little stutter step, where he stepped onto the field with his right foot and hopped on it again before stepping onto his left. That player scored the winning goal in the game, and OY admired him. OY started doing the same thing, believing that it will make him play well like that player. He had been doing that ever since when he steps out onto a soccer field, and he still does it in his Dartmouth games. I noticed that OY does this before games, and I asked him about it, which is where I collected this piece of folklore.

Cultural Context: In Israel, soccer is the most popular sport, in contrast to the US. OY used to play soccer in the streets and in school with his friends. Oftentimes in soccer, children see professional players doing things, and they want to be like them. This is the case with OY and other kids in Israel during that time. They saw that a player was doing something, and they did the same thing. They then will keep that ritual or superstition going for the rest of their life.

Item:

When OY runs on to the soccer field for the first time before a game, he always steps over the sideline with his right foot first, then hops again on his right foot before stepping on his left. He needs to do this so that he can play well.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

“When I was younger, I saw this player step onto the field in a certain way, and I really liked the way that player played. I really wanted to be like him, which is why I started to do this routine when stepping on the field and believing in the superstition.”

Informant’s Comments:

This is something that I’ve done for almost my whole life. At this point, it’s just something that I do to make me feel comfortable. I know that it probably doesn’t affect my performance, but I just feel weird if I don’t do it.

Collector’s Comments:

I know, firsthand (as a soccer player), that this is something that happens a lot in soccer. Children always love imitating the routines and mannerisms of their favorite professional players and let these routines adapt for themselves over the years as they get older.

Collector’s Name:

George Altirs

Dartmouth College

Russian 13: Slavic Folklore

Professors Gronas and Apresjan

21F