Tag Archives: Hockey Gear

Dartmouth Superstitions

Title: Dartmouth Superstitions – Lotti Odnoga

General Information about Item:

Customary Lore, Magic Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: Hungary
Informant: Lotti Odnoga
Date Collected: 11/16/21

Informant Data:

Lotti Odnogais a 22 years old senior defenseman on the Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey team and also plays for the Hungarian National Team. She was born in Gyor, Hungary on January 19, 1999, she went to play for Vermont Academy in Vermont in her sophomore year and has been living in the US since then.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: The cultural context in Lotti’s superstitions is that many players among the Ivy league schools put their gear on in a certain order or listen to music before a game to get them ready to play.
Social Context: The social context of Lotti’s superstition is that when she rings the bell she sends the whole team off to have a good game. If she doesn’t ring the bell it results in a bad start therefore a bad game for her team.

Item: Putting on her gear in a specific order and listening to the same songs is a customary type of folklore that falls under the genre of magic superstition. Lotti performs her rituals before every game.

Transcript: “I have to listen to the same three songs before every game. Those songs get me dialed into the game. If I don’t listen to them my thoughts are all over the place and I can’t focus on the game and therefore my performance will be bad. The only superstition I have when I am getting dressed is that I have to tie my left skates before my right and then I have to step on the ice with my left feet first. A tradition that was passed down to me from a previous DWIH player is that before we step on the ice for the first time in a game I have to ring the bell that is on the way to the rink from our locker room. I am not really sure when this tradition has started, but I am pretty sure it has been more than 10 years. This superstition sends the team on the ice with good luck and to have a great game.”

Collector’s Name: Lotti Odnoga

Dartmouth Superstitions

Title: Dartmouth Superstitions – Gabby Billing

General Information about Item:

Customary Lore, Magic Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: Gabby Billing
Date Collected: 11/14/21

Informant Data:

Gabby Billing was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota on October 18, 1999, however, she has lived in Corcoran, Minnesota her entire life. She is currently a senior on the Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey team and therefore a member of the graduating class of 2022.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: The cultural context is that putting on gear in a particular way is a common superstition among many hockey players in many different leagues and cultures.
Social Context: The social context is that Gabby shares this superstition with some of her teammates. The magic portion of the superstition is that if she does not put her gear on properly she will play poorly.

Item: This is a form of magic superstition which is a genre of customary folklore.

Transcript: “I always have to put on my gear in a very specific order. I put on my left sock, then my right, followed by my left skate, then my right. After that I put on my hockey pants and my left shin pad, followed by my right shin pad. This trend continues on with putting my left gear on before the right until I am fully dressed.

Informant/Collector Comments:

If I do not put on my gear in this specific order I feel like my pads are not on correctly which in turn makes me think I will have bad luck during the game and play poorly. It also serves as a distraction throughout the game, so if one of my pads doesn’t feel like it is on correctly I will be thinking about that instead of where I should be passing the puck or shooting.

Collector’s Name: Gabby Billing

Dartmouth Superstitions

Title: Dartmouth Superstitions – Currie Putrah

General Information about Item:

Customary Lore, Magic Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: Currie Purtrah
Date Collected: 11/14/21

Informant Data:

Currie Putrah was born in Faribault, Minnesota which is where she played hockey at Shattuck St. Mary’s high school. She is now a member of the 2022 graduating class at Dartmouth where she plays forward on the Women’s Ice Hockey team.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: The cultural context is that putting on your gear in a specific order is a common superstition among hockey players. Most of the players on DWIH have a specific way of putting on their gear and that is how they’ve gotten dressed their whole lives. It helps them feel balanced and ready for the game, and if they don’t dress in their respective ways it can throw them off and make them play badly, as it serves as a distraction.
Social Context: The social context is that Currie is only one of many people on the Dartmouth hockey team that puts her gear on a certain way. The magic involved in this superstition is that if she does not put on her gear from left to right she will feel off and play badly.

Item: Currie putting on her gear in a specific order is in the genre of magic superstition which comes from the category of customary lore.

Transcript:

“I always have to put on my gear in a very specific order. I put on my left sock, then my right, followed by my left skate, then my right. After that I put on my hockey pants and my left shin pad, followed by my right shin pad. This trend continues on with putting my left gear on before the right until I am fully dressed.

Informant’s Comments:

Currie told me that if she does not put on her gear in this specific order she feels like her pads are not on correctly which in turn makes her think she will have bad luck during the game and play poorly.

Collector’s Comments:

I was able to resonate with Currie’s superstition because I do the same thing but in a slightly different order. This is also a common superstition among hockey players.

Collector’s Name: Gabby Billing