Human beings look for patterns in pretty much everything they see. It’s a survival tactic, a way to anticipate danger, find food and shelter, something that has been developed since pre-historic man first began roaming the earth. It’s a useful thing, it allows us to predict when animals will come and go for hunting, it allowed us to develop agriculture and is part of the reason we are the dominant species on the planet. In what is doubtless going to be a point of frustration for many families in the next several months, it is also the reason why normally sane, rational people suddenly become incredibly superstitious during sports playoffs.
The problem is that while looking for patterns is useful in a lot of ways, this habit can be triggered accidentally due to coincidences. To use the sports example, let’s look at the Ottawa Senators. There was actual debate and serious discussion about whether setting up some signs on an Ottawa street would “jinx” the team and prevent them from getting into the playoffs. The signs are part of a general promotional campaign that the city tends to do when the team does make the playoffs, but people argued that doing it early would ruin the team’s chances. This concern was amplified when the team then lost a game.
Of course, the signs had nothing to do with the team’s success or failure, but because we look for patterns people began to think that, in spite of the fact that it has nothing to do with the Senators’ playoff chances, maybe it does. It’s the same way with basically any tradition adopted to ensure a team wins. An old gross pair of underwear is worn during important games because that’s the underwear that was being worn during a different important game that was successful. A specific ritual has to be undergone because that was what happened when the team won a big game years ago, and if you keep doing it maybe it’ll help the team win again. It doesn’t make sense, but it reinforces a pattern.
There are going to be habits that do help a team succeed, most of which are conducted by the players themselves. Playoff beards might not actually enhance play, but as a bonding exercise they’re something that can draw players together, so while it seems like a silly tradition it actually has a function. Even pointless rituals can have the effect of having a player in the right frame of mind to play well, plus if they’ve developed a superstition themselves they’re going to be distracted if they don’t follow through. Stuff that superstitious teams do to keep a streak alive is going to seem strange to outsiders, but it might actually help a team win just because it’s getting them in the right frame of mind for what the team is about to do.
When it comes to fans the patterns seem much more irrelevant, there is no way that the lucky hat has had any impact on their team’s performance. Then again, maybe they don’t need to. Maybe it’s the case that the rituals have the same meditative effect as they would for the actual team. The lucky hat calms the fans and lets them enjoy the game, and feel like an active participant in an admittedly stupid way. Their pattern recognition might have been tripped by a series of coincidences, but if it makes it more fun, is there any harm?
