SUPERSTITION IN SPORT

Superstition in sport has been defined as “actions which are repetitive,

formal, sequential, distinct from technical performance and which the

athletes believe to be powerful in controlling luck or other external

factors”

Serena Williams will

not change her socks

once during a

tournament.

Michael Jordan

would always wear

his UNC shorts

under his NBA shorts

Every morning the

Brazilian Shotokan

karate master Lioto

Machida drinks his own

urine. He has said he

believes urine is a natural

medicine that cleanses his

body.

In the 1998 World Cup

Laurent Blanc kissed

Fabien Barthez’s bald

head before each match.

France won the

tournament, conceding

just two goals.

Watch this video about different football

players’ superstitions before starting a match.

Fernando Alonso, like most celebrities, has its

superstitions such as:

- He gets in the car on the right side and ties first his

left foot.

- Before each race, to relax himself, he sings in the

secrecy of his truck.

- If he wins a Grand Prix, the year after he repeats

everything he did, the same room at the same hotel,

the same food.

- If in a Grand Prix he greets a mechanic and

everything goes wrong, the next race he won’t meet

him.

- He always puts a plastic snake inside his car.

- He likes doing calculations with the numbers of the

hotel room where he is, and the race will go well

according to the result.

- He puts his right boot before the left and he tries

not to cross with mechanics who previously had

greeted before a big race and it went wrong. By Sheila, Marcos and Beatriz

CONCHITA MARTINEZ.

She’s an Aragon tennis star. At Wimbledon 1994, she

turned the ball boy crazy because before serving she

always asked for the ball that had won the last point of

service. By Cristina

JOHAN CRUYFF

Johan Cruyff was a

footbalplayer in the

1970s.

- Before the match he

went to a goal and he

pushed it with his

stomach.

- Cruyff chewed gum

and when he the

match started he put

it on the floor of the

stadium.

By Pablo

Rafa Nadal. (by Nora)

Rafa has many tics or superstitions, for example:

- He puts his hair behind his

ears.

- He hits his shoes with the

racket before serving.

- He doesn’t step on the lines

when he is not playing a

point.

- At breaks he always places his racket on the same

towel, he drinks water and leaves the bottle in the

same position

David Beckham (by Fátima and Daniel Sa.)

This British football star

always wears new boots

in every game. And he

always uses Armani

pants.

Mario Gómez (by Alejandro)

This German striker

confesses that he sings the

national anthem before

every match.

Mireia Belmonte (by Carol)

Mireia Belmonte competes with artificial nails or customize them for every occasion. In London 2012 she painted one of the colors of the Olympic rings on each of her fingers.

Kolo Touré (by Daniel Su.)

Kolo is a Manchester City

footballer. He is always

the last one to leave to the

pitch in every game.

Hugo Sánchez (by Cristina B.)

This football player used

to hold hands as a symbol

of God’s blessing. He

tried not to shoot to the

goal too much not to

waste goals.

Julio César Chávez (by Cristina B.)

This boxer puts a red

stripe on his forehead

before every fight. He

uses it to drive away the

bad vibes.

Bjön Borg (by Alberto.)

Bjön Borg was one of the

best tennis player in the

world. When he

participated in an

important tennis

competition he had not

beard, but he didn´t

shave his beard since the

end of the competition

and his beard grew a lot.