When the
Seattle Seahawks beat the Saints last Saturday and clinched their place in next
weekend’s NFC championship game, I can assure you that it had absolutely nothing
to do with Marshawn Lynch’s 140 yards…
Steven
Hauschka’s field goals…
Doug
Baldwin’s great catch…
Or even,
dare I say it…
Russell
Wilson.
Nope,
that win was created by one man, and one man alone…
Matt
Baughn, a guy in my neighborhood.
Okay,
his friends probably helped as well.
You see,
over the last three years, this group of Hawks fans has developed a few “traditions.”
And hey,
you can call these practices weird.
But they’re
only weird if they don’t work.
And one
look at the Seahawks record will tell you they do.
So, here’s
a rundown of their super superstitions featured in our local paper:
Matt must
stand with one foot on the tile in front of his fireplace for the entire game.
His wife
Nikki must stand the entire time as well, but apparently her foot placement is
not critical.
Good friend
Travis must wear his Seahawks slippers and team socks, which have not been
washed since the first game of the season.
Andy
must wear his ratty and ripped up cargo pants, but laundering is not a factor.
Further,
a football helmet-wearing piggy bank must face the TV from the back of the
living room.
And a
Santa decked out in Hawks gear must face the fans at all times. Last Saturday, Santa
got bumped and things were looking bleak. However, the moment Nikki took notice
and turned him in the right direction…
Seahawk
first down. Woot!
Well, I
don’t know about you, but I don’t give a hoot how the Hawks manage this week’s
game prep —
I’m
rooting for Matt and the gang.
PROMPT: It’s all about sport superstitions
today. Perhaps your character is like Michael Jordan who always wore his blue
North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform for luck, or Wade Boggs who had
to eat chicken before every game, or maybe he or she is just super-serious
about fandom like Matt and his gang. Whichever the case, that ritual just got ‘em
in a whole heap of trouble…
Write
on!
