Tampa Bay Rays

Once again, I take a break from superstitions and fears. Sorry, but the World Series is just too exciting around here. GO RAYS!

I have not always been such a fan of baseball. When I was a little girl, I won Miss Little League. Pretty much all that meant was I rode in a convertible in a parade and waved my little gloved hands at people lining the streets, waiting for their Little Leaguer to walk by. My next brilliant moment of baseball lore, was even less impressive.

I was at a party at my in-laws home. There was a gentleman attending the party who my brother in law just wanted me to meet. He was pleased to introduce me to this person and have me ooh and aah over his ring. I looked at the ring and thought it was the biggest, gaudiest thing I had ever seen. Not wanting to say that, I wowed him all right. I said the perfect thing. I looked up from the ring and asked him, “What’s a World Series?”

Needless to say, conversations stopped. I to this day, do not remember who he was. In the retelling of this story to the father of a friend of my son, he smiled. Seems he was a coach for the Toronto Blue Jays and had a similar gaudy ring. (Sigh)

I have shown my brilliance as well, with basketball. I used to take my sons to a local pottery paint shop for some “bonding” time. Well, this young man seemed to spend a lot of time there. He was very tall and athletic looking. He just seemed to have so much time on his hands. I was introduced by the shop owner to Matt Geiger, who seemed very polite and was busy painting dishes for his pets! Finally, one day, when he seemed particularly bored, I told him, “Matt, you really need to get a job.” He laughed and agreed that would be a good idea.

Apparently it was during the Basketball strike of 1998-1999 and Matt was an NBA player. Oops, to me he was just a nice kid.

So, in honor of my amazing sports trivia, I share this video with you. It does show how the language can be used to confuse!

GO RAYS!

Superstitions are our attempts at making sense out the unexplained. Many of our superstitions once sought to placate “unseen forces” by simple rituals, and many of these rituals, such as knocking on wood after an optimistic statement or throwing spilled salt over the left shoulder, still persist today.

Watching the Tampa Bay Rays win last night lead me to do some thinking about the differences between behaviors that are rituals and those that are superstitions. Often a coach will encourage a ritual that will allow the player become focused. That is healthy. When it crosses over into the realm of “magical thinking” it becomes superstition. The fans hold many superstitions as well.

Do you have any behaviors that cross over into the realm of superstition? Do they affect you in a positive or negative way?