Midwest | Dartmouth Folklore Archive

General Information About Item:

Informant Data:

C.H. is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2025. He was born in Indiana. During his time at Dartmouth, C.H. enjoys playing basketball in his free time. While at home he often bike’s and spends time with his family. He does not yet have plans for after Dartmouth, but he is a freshman and has time to figure it out.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: In sports there is always an expectation to perform. Therefore an item of clothing is often associated with a good or bad performance. If a player wears a different pair of socks than normal and performs badly, then they will often associate the poor performance with the pair of socks. The same association works with a good performance.
Social Context: This specific superstition stemming from an item of clothing often occurs in sports. While the specific item is not often shared throughout athletes, many athletes have items of clothing or gear that they prefer to wear and associate with a good performance. C.H.’s specific item of clothing (green compression shorts) stemmed from a really great performance he had in the 6th grade that he associated with his “lucky compression shorts”.

Item:

The green compression shorts can be purchased anywhere. Specifically, C.H. received his compression shorts as a gift from his father from Dick’s sporting goods. C.H.’s father wore a similar green pair of compression shorts as a kid and saw them as good luck because of the green. The compression shorts can be bought anywhere online, however he has a specific connection to the compression shorts due to his performance wearing them in the 6th grade

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

Transcript:

“It started when I had my first really good game in lacrosse in the 6th grade. I thought what I wore must’ve been my “lucky” compressions.”

Informant’s Comments:

“I just made it a habit after that one game in 6th grade. I really enjoy doing things the same way and having a routine so I just never switched it up.”

Collector’s Comments:

I found this specific superstition to be particularly interesting because he does not necessarily believe in superstitions. C.H. does believe in routine and habit and chooses to do things the same way if they result in a quality performance. It seems to help him mentally and perform the way he wants to.

Collector’s Name:

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Dartmouth Folklore Archive