Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch isn’t the only athlete who believes in rituals. (Photo courtesy of seahawks.com)
It’s a holiday everyone, why don’t we focus on the whimsical side of sports. You thought it was just a joke in the movie Major League, that athletes were excessively superstitious. Though Perdo Cerrano and JoBu may be movie characters, there are plenty of athletes that have their all-too-real habits and superstitions.
I have searched lists far and wide, and these are my top five favorite and most interesting – some even impressive – habits that athletes do in preparation for their respected sports.
5. Tom Brady the football robot. There’s no secret that Tom Brady the 37-year- old football powerhouse of a quarterback is in good shape. But realizing what the man does to stay that way is ridiculous. His “secret?” Early to bed, early to rise according to Yahoo! Sports. He basically devotes his life to weight training, strength building and whatever else it takes to do what he loves the most – play football. Or as he puts it, “I think that the decisions that I make always probably center around performance enhancement, if that makes sense,” as quoted in Yahoo! Sports.
4. I’m Lovin’ Bolt. Olympic gold-medalist Usain Bolt ate 100 McDonald’s chicken nuggets PER DAY at the 2008 Beijing Olympics because he thought Chinese food was “odd,” as quoted in TIME. But alas, his 1,000 chicken nuggets a day during his stay did not land him in a food coma, but three Olympic golds instead. I can’t eat even a tenth of that in one day, let alone being able to move in three days. Especially coming from a girl that ran track, I can’t imagine how this is possible. This man must really be a cyborg.
3. Taste the Marshawn-bo. This one gets thrown in there because I lost my last fantasy football game due to “beastmode” going into overdrive with 40 fantasy points. Anyways, Lynch is known for his Skittles addiction, even appearing in a Skittles advertisement at one point. Cameras have caught him munching on the colorful treats in-between drives for the Seattle Seahawks, and in the team’s win over the Denver Broncos last year, he showered the crowd in the victory parade with his delightful endorsements, according to Yahoo! Sports.
2. Who wears short shorts? Michael Jordan. This one I had legitimately never heard of before I decided to sit down and write this blog. However, Men’s Fitness has informed me that the best all-time basketball legend actually wore his University of North Carolina basketball shorts under his Chicago Bulls shorts in EVERY one of his appearances on the court. This superstition led him to ask uniform-coordinators to lengthen his shorts a few inches to accommodate for his unusual undergarments. Thus, because everyone and their mother wants to be Michael Jordan, this baggy shorts look inspired a newfound trend in the NBA that is still seen today.
1. Jason Gi-thong-i. I am, above all, a die-hard, end-all-be-all baseball fan, and growing up on the sport makes former Colorado Rockie Jason Giambi a batting God to me. Upon learning a new tidbit of information about him, I can frankly say that his slump-breaking thong habits are hilarious. Yes, Giambi was known in his prime, to wear a golden thong during games where his batting average was slumping. This obsession even went so far in the clubhouse, that according to Men’s Fitness, the rest of the ball-club bought into the hype and borrowed the magic of the thong when they too were in a slump. Gross.
Well folks, that’s all I have. Sport can’t be all too serious, or else what fun would it be to follow? Happy Veteran’s Day!
Check out new Gossip Girl Sports entries every Wednesday, because Sarah Stigers believes her readers are Gods too, Mark.
