These Athletes Have Really Weird Superstitions

As an athlete, you rely on your talent, the amount of hours you spend practicing, your teammates, the fans, and occasionally, pure luck. That’s why it isn’t so surprising that some incredible athletes have developed certain superstitions along the way. They honestly believe if they don’t stick to a certain regiment, they could easily fail. Check out these sports stars and their rather odd superstitions. While to onlookers their rituals might appear weird, to an athlete, these patterns help to influence their performance on the field. A ritual is specific behavior or action that an athlete will perform with the firm belief that these behaviors they perform hold a specific purpose that will influence their performance. Most athletes also believe that performing that specific ritual before a game will also improve their performance. These rituals could be as small as the clothes they wear, the food they eat, or even the music they listen to. Or it could be as weird as peeing all over the pitch, wearing a gold thong or not changing your socks at all. Yeah, we know that sounds weird but hey, when you believe the ritual works, it can be hard to break through that mold. More often than not, superstition is something that is originally created in hindsight, usually by accident which means it is required to be repeated in future events. Whether an athlete has a good or bad performance that can help shape the superstition because they want to create their own “cause and effect” as they review what went on that day. Athletes will notice the smallest thing, what they wore or what they ate or if it was something different that day that influenced the outcome such as getting a haircut or hearing a certain song.

More often than not, if they performed well that day, the athlete might be totally convinced that their success is due to the unusual circumstances, not skill, and they will try to recreate this situation from that moment on. It goes without saying that each sport, from baseball to soccer to hockey to boxing (but not limited to obviously), has an athlete with a strict ritual. Athletes such as Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Wayne Gretzky, and Jason Terry are just some of the names included on this list. Trust us, once you find out their weird superstitions, you might wish you didn’t know what it was in the first place. Brace yourself; these are the weirdest superstitions of athletes in any sport.

Bjorn Borg

The tennis legend that is Bjorn Borg had a rather odd Wimbledon-specific superstition. Basically every year, he would grow a beard before the tournament, and would NOT shave it off until afterwards.

Granted, it was the 70s then, so it just looked like some kind of fashion statement. Borg did it every year and it looks like it worked, because he won Wimbledon in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980.

Bobby Moore

If you’re a West Ham fan then you know the legend that is the late Bobby Moore. Notoriously known as the England captain who won the World Cup in 1966 and forever one of the most loved and admired Hammers of all time.

Turns out that Moore insisted that he be the last player in the changing rooms to put his shorts on before a game. Moore would actually wait until everyone else was dressed before pulling his own shorts on.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, is one of the most famous soccer players in the world, and he’s one the wealthiest too, with an estimated net worth of $280 million. But did you know he’s a bit superstitious? Turns out that if he’s traveling to a game by plane, then he insists on being the very first to disembark.

However, if he’s traveling by bus, he has to sit at the back and get off last. Also, when he approaches the pitch, he has to put his right foot onto the grass first. And finally, perhaps my favorite of his superstitions; he always does his hair at halftime, so that he doesn’t play both halves with the same hairstyle. Cray, cray wouldn’t you say?

Jeff Honacek

Here’s a good one. Each and every time that this shooting guard stepped up to the line, he would wipe the right side of his face a grand total of three times before he shot the ball.

If you think that’s crazy weird, did you know that his free throw percentage is 87.7? Not so funny anymore, huh?

Johan Cruyff

This Dutch soccer player insisted on chewing gum before every game and spitting it out on the opposing team’s half before the game would start.

How kind of him.

John Terry

John Terry is the center back and caption of Chelsea soccer club, he’s deeply respected by his teammates and the fans love him.

Here’s the kicker, Terry will use only one specific urinal in the team’s changing rooms. Doesn’t matter if others are free, he insists on using the one on the far right-hand side.

Laura Trott

Laura Trott is the Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist, who happened to win the Junior World Championships with one wet sock.

After this, she became convinced that she had to race with one wet sock before every race. Interesting to say the least.

LeBron James

The legend that is LeBron James has a few things he must do on game day. Such as rubbing chalk on his hands and throwing the powder in the air. I know, totally normal, right?

However he’s got one more superstition that is slightly more, well, odd. He actually has secret handshakes with every single player on his team. No player ever has the same handshake, so not only does he shake each person’s hand in their super secret school girl way but he remembers each one perfectly. Weirdo. JK, we love you.

Michael Jordan

You might think that the baggy, long shorts that Michael Jordan wore were odd but there’s a good reason for that. You see, Jordan had a lucky pair of practice shorts back at his university, North Carolina Tar Heels.

Obviously he couldn’t wear a different team’s uniform so he would wear the Tar Heels shorts underneath his Chicago Bulls ones. Ergo, the baggy look which suddenly became the norm for a lot of athletes.

Neil McKenzie

Neil McKenzie is a fantastic cricketer whose superstition started because his teammates decided to pull a prank on him.

Before a match, his teammates stuck his bat to the ceiling, McKenzie went out that day and played an absolutely incredible game. After this, he decided that taping his bat to the roof was the key to his success.

Pepe Reina

Pepe Reina is a former Liverpool goalkeeper (that’s soccer if you didn’t know). Reina always did two things on game day.

One, the night before, he always ate a ham and cheese toast sandwich along with a couple of glasses of wine. And the day of the match, he always filled his car up to the brim with gas.

Rafael Nadal

The King of Clay has a loooooong list of superstitions. Let’s begin, shall we?

Before a match, he always crosses lines with his right foot; he arrives with one tennis racket in his hand; he eats his energy gels in a very specific way; he always jumps during the coin toss; he takes an ice cold shower; and he always lines up his water bottles in an orderly line, making sure all the labels point in the same direction. Phew.

Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo’s superstition on game day sounds pretty normal, the man likes to shower before each and every game.

However it’s the fact that he showers five times on a game day that is just ludicrous. What a waste of water, Rajon.

Serena Williams

There is no greater tennis athlete out there than that of Serena Williams, she has 38 major titles to her belt and she’s not slowing down any time soon.

With that being said, we really hate to tell you what her superstition is. When Williams hits a winning streak, she will continue to wear the same pair of socks, unwashed, for every single game, for fear of breaking her streak. Uhh. Well then.

Shaquille O’Neal

Shaq is not known for his incredible and beautiful free throws, but rather his 50% accuracy rate. His insane superstition was never doing the same thing twice when he would miss a free throw. So whenever he’d miss a free throw, he’d change his footing, change the way he held the ball, or change the way that he released his shot. Let’s not forget that he would also chew on four pieces of gum before each game and then place it underneath his seat on the bench.

Oh yeah, he would also wear two pairs of socks for each game and drive on the same streets to the arena every time he had a game. Yes, we have reached the end of the list for Shaq, I know, there were many.

Stefan Ratchford

Ratchford has a specific regiment before every game, he gets up at the same time, gets dressed in the same order, eats the same food at the same time, and everything is done in even numbers.

Oh yeah, one more thing, five minutes before the warm-ups begin, Ratchford always asks a specific teammate to hand him his chewing gum.

Tiger Woods

If you’re anything of a golf fan, then you may have noticed that Tiger Woods always wears a red shirt on Sundays.

It is a tradition that has been with him since he was just an amateur player. The university that he went to also played in red, this only cemented his belief that red is his lucky color.

Tony Lockett

Meet the highest goal scorer in Australian Football League history. However, even though Lockett was incredibly talented, he would get so nervous before a game that he wouldn’t eat.

No matter what. Lockett also insisted on using the same Adidas kit bag of his. He would refuse to enter the grounds if he didn’t have his lucky bag. Even when he signed a sponsorship agreement with Puma, he flat out refused to get rid of his lucky bag.

Kevin Rhomberg

Granted this left fielder’s 41-game stretch with the 1982 Cleveland Indians was forgettable, his odd quirks left a lasting legacy. Many pros who played with Rhomberg said that he had a compulsion. He had to touch someone if they touched him. Once word of this spread, the opposing team would make life really difficult for him.

They would touch Rhomberg and run away, causing him to go into a panic. Once an umpire paused a game between New York and Cleveland, because the Yankees players had refused to stop touching Rhomberg. That’s rough.

Jason Terry

Dallas Maverick shooting guard Jason Terry might just be the NBA’s most superstitious player.

Before games, he eats chicken and wears five pairs of socks when playing. However the weirdest bit is that each night before a game, he wears the shorts of the following day’s opposing team.

Wade Boggs

Hall of Famer Wade Boggs was a bit obsessive. Okay, a bit doesn’t even begin to explain it. The 12-time All Star ate chicken before every day, would take batting practice at 5:17, would run sprints at 7:17 and drew the word “Chai” (Hebrew for “life”) in the dirt before batting.

But let’s not forget that he is one of the greatest baseball careers players of all time. Whether it was his obsessive need or skill that made him a great, we’ll let you be the judge.

Patrick Roy

In the history of the NHL, Patrick Roy might just be ~the~ greatest goal tender. Before each game, this former Montreal Canadien would skate backwards toward the net before turning around at the last second.

Throughout the game, he would talk with the posts, even thank them when a puck was deflected and would touch them.

Jason Giambi

Any time Jason Giambi wasn’t performing, was in a funk, he had the golden solution to his woes.

A golden thong. Yup, the 6-foot-3 first baseman would slip into a teeny tiny pair of undergarments and yes, he luck would change! Heck it would so that that his teammates would even borrow the golden thong to break out of their own lows.

Lyoto Machida

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida has a rather nasty daily routine. The Brazilian Shotokan karate master literally drinks his own urine.

He says he picked up this trick from his father as he believed urine acts as a natural medicine which cleanses the body. Yeah sorry but that’s just disgusting on so many levels!

Turk Wendell

The former New York Mets reliever had a long list of superstitions.

Such as leaping over baselines when walking to the mound, when pitching he’d chew black licorice and he’d brush his teeth between innings. Oh yeah, he wore a necklace that featured wild animals he hunted and killed.

Sergio Goycochea

Goalkeep Segio Goycocheca has made some incredible penalty kick saves, just watch the videos and you’ll see what we mean. However just how was he able to be so extraordinary?

Well, Goycochea relive his bladder…on the pitch. YUP. He peed before every single kick ever taken against him. Uhh, we’ll let that sink in!

Caron Butler

Early on in the NBA, the small forward would down a two liter bottle of Mountain Dew!

When he joined the Washington Wizards in 2005, he switched to a more traditional and healthy sports drink: Water.

Mike Bibby

At first Mike Bibby just nervously chewed his nails during a game. Then when he was relegated to the bench during games with the Sacramento Kings, he obsessively picked at his nails.

That was until he found a better solution…he used fingernail clippers on the bench. **cue the eww’s now!* Anytime he came to the bench during timeouts, someone would hand him clippers. EWW.

Moises Alou

How did Moises Alou avoid calluses and harden his skin? And no, it wasn’t the batting gloves!

Throughout the season, he would urinate on his hands. What is it with athletes and urine?! Yeesh.

Wayne Gretzky

The Great One knew how to take care of his equipment and as the greatest player of all time, we’re not surprised by this.

However he may have taken it a bit far. He would diligently add friction tape to the blade of his stick and when he was set to finish, he added baby powder as to “relieve some of the tape’s stickiness.” Moreover he didn’t like it when other sticks touched his stick! He explained that baby powder was “essentially a matter of taking care of what takes care of you.”