Superstition and the H*****n R*****s

Basketball is a sport of superstition. You hear stories of players who have the same pregame rituals, players who eat the same meals on game day. Coaches who have suits or ties that they have deemed lucky. Representatives at the Draft Lottery with charms that will supposedly make the lotto balls bounce their way.

And then you have the fans. There are fans who think that what they do actually impacts the outcome of games and the fortunes of their favorite teams. You hear these stories all the time and maybe you’ve just dismissed them as nonsense and meaningless fan behavior. I have a confession to make.

I am one of those fans.

I’ve been sitting on my hands, resisting the urge to mention a certain team and their recent good fortunes. Despite many changes and some uncertainty, things have continued to go well. As such, I don’t talk about it. I haven’t mentioned it to anyone. I don’t want to risk it.

I already feel terrible because someone asked me about it. I responded in a rather roundabout way, only saying that I didn’t want to jinx it. The next day, someone was injured, putting a pretty serious damper on my mood and on the team’s chances.

So here we are. I’m taking a chance by mentioning it at all, but I’m trying not to be specific so as not to put the hex on. I know that even though things are going well, it only takes a few games to completely change everything. And there is a brutal stretch approaching in mid-March.

So I hold my tongue, difficult as it is to do so. I say instead only this: 17 and counting.