Consider the psyche of the professional athlete. They're creatures of habit and slaves to superstition, to the point where many won't even address questions about their superstitions … out of superstition.
So when a team like the AHL Norfolk Admirals is on a 25-game winning streak — the longest in North American pro hockey history — one imagines the intensity and variety of superstitions would be at critical mass. Which, in fact, they are.
Jim Hodges of the Virginian-Pilot has a great piece chronicling the many superstitions of the Admirals as they head into their final three games of the regular season this weekend vs. Albany, Binghamton and Adirondack. They include:
• Coach Jon Cooper having chicken and broccoli for dinner, to the point where waitresses at local restaurants scold him for attempting to eat steak.
• Winger Eric Neilson having not shaved during the streak, while AHL rookie of the year Cory Conacher hasn't had a haircut.
• Center Tyler Johnson tweeting a variation of the same thing after each win: "[Insert number here] is a fluke, [insert one number higher here] is a streak."
• Finally, the team's official locker room celebration song after each win: "We Are Young" by the band Fun., which Hodges reports the players heard during a Super Bowl commercial on Feb. 5 — the last time the team lost a game. Now, they sing it in the room after each win.
Much more here from the Pilot. A superstitious team with a 25-game winning streak on Friday the 13th … oh dear.