Tag Archives: pre-game

No Talking to Competitors

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General Information about Item:

  • Ritual/ Superstition 
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: USA
  • Informant: JD
  • Date Collected: 11/14/19

Informant Data:

  • JD is a ‘23 on the Dartmouth Track & Field team from Andover, MA. He has been on the team for three years and participates in the throwing events, specifically hammer and weight throw. He began competing in track and field in the eighth grade.  

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural context: Many athletes are very superstitious and have lots of pre-meet rituals that they participate in. These ritual superstitions can be anything from an clothing item, a song they listen to, or a ritual. JD stated that he participates in this ritual because it makes them feel calm and puts them in a competitive mindset. 
  • Social Context: Rituals like this are a large part of athletic participation because how you interact with your competitors plays a big role in your competition experience. Rituals like this help make one feel more comfortable in a situation that they have little control over and provides them with an individualized action even when surrounded by a lot of people. The rituals can be playful or serious depending on the athlete. 

Item:

  • JD says that before and during every meet he does not talk to the competition at all until he is finished competing. Sometimes he does this by listening to music to distract him from everything else, and other times he just goes off to the side and avoids talking to people.

Associated File: 

*Informant did not feel comfortable being recorded. 

Informant’s Comments:

  • JD has done this ritual every meet since they were in high school. He said it makes him feel focused on himself and not on his competition and it makes him feel like he will do better. 

Collector’s Comments:

  • As an athlete myself, I have heard and seen many of my past and current teammates and opponents who have a similar approach to preparing for competition. 
  • This would fall into the categories of customary folklore, as it represents a transition from everyday life to incorporation into the competition mindset. 
  • While this isn’t a Dartmouth team specific tradition/superstition, this is just one example of the many athletes on the team who have similar superstitions. 

Collector’s Name:

  • Madyson Buchalski

Pre-Meet Preparation Ritual

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General Information about Item:

  • Ritual/ Superstition 
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: USA
  • Informant: JT
  • Date Collected: 11/14/19

Informant Data:

  • JT is a ‘23 on the Dartmouth Track & Field team from Houston, Texas. She has been on the team for three years and participates in the throwing events, specifically shot put and discus. She began competing in track and field in the fifth grade at her middle school.  

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural context: Many athletes are very superstitious and have lots of pre-meet rituals that they participate in,  believing they will help them perform well. These ritual superstitions can be anything from an clothing item, to a song they listen to, to an action they perform. JT stated that they participate in this ritual because it makes them feel calm and in control before a competition and it puts them in a mindset to compete well. 

Item:

  • JT says that before every meet she does her makeup a particular way, paints her nails, and wears a fun pair of socks. This began as a personal ritual that she picked up from teammates in high school, but has now spread to other members of the track team as well.

Associated File: 

*Informant did not feel comfortable being recorded. 

Informant’s Comments:

  • JT has continued to do this same ritual before every meet since they were in high school because it makes her feel confident and in control. She enjoys going into a competition feeling and looking her best because the positivity often translates into her throwing that day. 
  • She has never completed without doing this tradition before a meet since she’s been in college, and when asked if she ever would, JT was hesitant and said probably not, because she’s had such great results with it. 

Collector’s Comments:

  • As a varsity athlete myself, I definitely have heard of many of my past and current teammates who have a similar ritual/superstition for themselves. While I don’t currently have a ritual and steps I go through before a meet, I can see how doing the same thing before every meet could have a positive psychological effect on an athlete. 
  • This would fall into the categories of material and customary folklore, since it includes something physical the athlete wears on meet day, like the makeup and socks, but it also is a ritual because of its particular steps that represent a transition from everyday life to incorporation into the competition mindset . Additionally, it is a sign superstition in the form “If I do A, then B ” because JT believes that doing this ritual makes her perform better. 
  • While this isn’t a Dartmouth team specific tradition/superstition, this is just one example of the many athletes on the team who have similar superstitions. 

Collector’s Name:

  • Madyson Buchalski

One Strip Wonder (Jack Cameron)

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Title: One Strip Wonder

General Information about Item:

  • Sign superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Canada
  • Informant: NU
  • Date Collected: 10/29/21

Informant Data:

  • NU is a 21-year-old Dartmouth student in the class of 2024.  He was born in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada and raised from age 12 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Nick is a member of the Men’s Varsity Hockey team at Dartmouth. Away from hockey, Nick is an amateur DJ who enjoys playing his music at various functions.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Hockey players have to un-tape and re-tape their stick after almost every use. Tape on a hockey stick allows for more grip on the puck when passing, shooting, or stickhandling. Some players elect to apply wax onto the tape to prevent the buildup of snow and ice on the blade of their stick over the course of a practice or game.
  • Social Context: This specific superstition was mentioned when the interviewee was their pre-game routine. Hockey players tape their sticks in a multitude of different ways, all depending on personal preference.  Though the taping of the stick is often different, every hockey player does it after almost every use.

Item:

  • Un-taping a hockey stick happens very quickly, but in this case, the tape must come off all in one piece. Hockey sticks are taping in a looping motion, slightly overlapping each strip so that there are no gaps. To be able to take the tape off in one piece means that the tape was worn down in a specific pattern.  

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

Transcript:

  • “A sign of good luck in Canada is when your tape comes off all in one. I don’t really know where it started, but we were always told that if your tape comes off all as one piece then you have to stick it to a wall somewhere in the room for good luck. I was told that it means that your stick is ready for a new tape job which means you’re more likely to score a goal, kind of like a snake shedding its skin to get a new layer.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • All of the Canadians on my team have heard of this and done this, but the Americans always look at us funny and think it’s dumb.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found this sign superstition to be very interesting. I am also a hockey player, and this was something that I was taught when I was young – maybe ten or twelve years old. I was equally as surprised as Nick when I heard that Americans do not treat it the same way, and always feel a sense of happiness when my tape comes off all in one go.

Collector’s Name:

Jack Cameron

Dartmouth College

Russ013 21F

Prof. Apresyan and Prof. Gronas

Left First (Jack Cameron)

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Title: Left First

General Information about Item:

  • Magic superstition, homeopathic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: JM
  • Date Collected: 11/08/21

Informant Data:

  • JM is a 21 year old male Dartmouth student in the class of 2023.  He was born and raised in the areas surrounding New Haven, Connecticut. James is a member of the Varsity Football team at Dartmouth, playing the position of Offensive Line. Away from football, James enjoys music and is an avid fan of the old folk band Carlyle Fraser.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Football teams often stretch before their games and practices.  Football is known and practiced as a very combative sport, with plenty of injury and physical toll. Stretching before a game reduces risk of injury, and is often led by seniors or captains on any given team. Offensive Linemen tend to be the biggest people on the football team.
  • Social Context: This specific superstition pertains to all Offensive Linemen on the Dartmouth football team. While this is not necessarily the case for all of the positions, the interviewee was adamant that the Offensive Line face perhaps the most physical toll of all the positions, as their job is to block the defense from tackling their teammates with the ball.

Item:

A stretching routine is very common. Often led by team leaders, seniors or captains, pre-game stretching routines take place in almost all sports across the world. Each stretching routine can be different depending on the sport, but this routine has the Offensive Linemen always stretch the left body part before their right.  

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

Transcript:

“This is me stretching my left hip flexor. Our pregame stretching superstition always starts with the left side first. Left hamstring, then right hamstring. Left calf, then right calf, etc. I think it started almost 10 years ago because it’s luckier to stretch on the heart side first, that way if something gets banged up on the right side we can always say ‘it’s a long way from the heart’ and keep on moving forward.”

Informant’s Comments:

Found this to be interesting and now found that I do lots of things in my day left side first. Put on pants left leg before the right, socks and shoes left before right and such.

Collector’s Comments:

I found this pregame superstition to be quite interesting, especially since it has since carried over into his everyday life. I think that protecting the heart side is an interesting concept that I would highly consider incorporating into my own life for a feeling of safety.  

Collector’s Name:

Jack Cameron

Dartmouth College

Russ013 21F

Prof. Apresyan and Prof. Gronas