Sports superstitions: And why the UMBC game is my bad

I’m finally willing to fess up. I know why UVA basketball lost that game to UMBC, and, yes, this is hard, all on me.

You have silly fan superstitions, right? We all do.

Mine last season was shaving my head before games. It started innocently enough. There are usually three or four days between games, and since I am at most, I used the time in between as the gauge for when I needed to freshen things up.

Backstory: been shaving my head for the last six years. I decided, whatever reason, I just didn’t like my hair anymore. Mostly the color, which was blonde until my mid-20s, and is now a sickly reddish-brown.

Just not me.

Back to our story: so, I’d shave every game day.

I didn’t cover the West Virginia game live, didn’t shave that day, and, yep, you got it, loss for the ‘Hoos.

I didn’t think much of it then. I figured a few more losses were to come.

And then, they weren’t coming.

It got ridiculous. All the way to the Virginia Tech game in Charlottesville in February.

Now, I’m superstitious, but actually, I’m extremely superstitious.

I felt a loss coming that week, and I wanted to preserve the power of the freshly shaved head.

Makes sense, right? If I feel a loss coming, and I don’t use the superstition, I preserve its powers for when I need it.

So, didn’t shave that game day.

And then the ‘Hoos lost!

Afterward, I felt responsible, silly as it might seem. Maybe if I’d shaved my head that morning, the good guys win.

Things got tough for me ACC Tournament week. Games in the tournament are on back-to-back-to-back days.

I didn’t necessarily need a fresh shave after the first one, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

Naturally, the ‘Hoos bring the big trophy home.

Here’s where I screwed up: I told my wife about my superstition.

You don’t do that. Anybody who keeps a stupid superstition knows that.

You don’t acknowledge the superstition.

You grow the hockey beard during the Stanley Cup. You don’t brag about it. You just grow it.

Yeah, I know. Superstitions are silly. Like when I was in the stands at Davenport, two strikes, two outs in the ninth, down a run to Cal-Irvine, and I turned my back to the field, not wanting to see Irvine dogpile, but I watched over my shoulder.

Then David Coleman singled, Jared King singled, Reed Gragnani walked, Chris Taylor rocketed an 0-1 pitch back up the middle, two runs score, ballgame.

I stood there the whole time, maybe 20 minutes, my back turned to the field, watching over my shoulder.

Because: you never know.

Actually, you do, but it makes you feel better, thinking that not changing the way you’re sitting on the couch, or turning your hat backwards, rally-cap style, wearing the T-shirt you wore to the 1995 Florida State game, shaving your head on game day, whatever, might have some influence on the final outcome.

I get asked the question often: what the hell happened that night?

Seriously, UMBC?

I’m as much a basketball expert as anybody. I break down X’s and O’s, use analytics.

I’ve put way, way, way too much mental energy into this, and I got nothing.

Except: the superstition.

I funked up.

I’ll start another one next season. And no, not going to tell you what it is.

Column by Chris Graham