If soccer players have their strange rituals (see Sergio Goycochea), then the fans that watch the game are not to be outdone.
Here is a sampling of their rituals and superstitions.
Lucky drawers:
My lucky pants! A pair of old red and white things. Saw me through my successful Sunday league career with an assurance others can only dream about. They never fail (apart from last year’s Div One play-off final). However, the elastic’s gone now so I face a dilemma: throw them away, and with them England’s World Cup hopes? New elastic? New pair of lucky pants sworn in? Just don’t do anything and have them hanging down by my knees? Strangely, my wife seems uninterested and unwilling to discuss which option I should choose.
Neil Warren, England
Sartorial splendor:
I notice that anytime I watch a game naked, the team I support will win.
Tah, Cameroon
Tongue in cheek:
My superstition is that if the team I’m supporting score more goals than the opposition then they always seem to win, it never fails. If my team doesn’t score they never win, so it must work.
James Fisher, England
Ablutions:
Sod’s Law, someone always scores when I go to the toilet. So if England are 1-0 ahead against Sweden or Argentina I’ll be staying right where I am. We could be the team that scores the second goal, making it 2-0, but I’m not taking any chances. Instead, I’ll be going easy on my pint, struggling to control my bladder while the lads struggle to control the pig’s bladder on the damp long grass in Japan.
Dave, UAE
Agriculture:
If I roll in cow dung before the day before England games, and dance naked around a maypole, we usually draw. So I won’t do that anymore.
Rod Jenkin, England
Caffeine:
I had a cup of coffee and Arsenal won 2-1, despite being down to ten men. In all the subsequent Premiership and FA Cup games Arsenal scored after I’d had the customary cup or two of coffee. My superstitious belief was strengthened in the game against Aston Villa at Highbury – Villa went 2-0 ahead before I’d had the chance to get the cup of coffee. I got myself the beverage and lo and behold the Gunners went on to win 3-2.
Mitesh Shah, England
National character:
I always find that England play so much better after I have had several pints of lager. Strange isn’t it.
Joe, UK
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