“Good luck!”

This a common phrase exchanged between almost everyone, whether it’s before stepping onto the stage for a musical performance, entering the last couple of seconds during a sports game or something as mundane as asking your crush of three years out on a date.

And whether it’s a phrase or action, it can get into your head.  Even the strangest things can convince us that it will bring us luck or comfort before a big moment.

According to bleacherreport.com, even Brian Urlacher, a linebacker for the Chicago Bears, always eats two chocolate chip cookies before a game. Never more, never less.

And these sports superstitions are happening worldwide – at the high school, college and professional levels. Boys and girls alike. It doesn’t matter. Almost every athlete has their own familiar “thing” that they do before a big play.

But why?

“I think a lot of people do it because it gives them a sense of comfort and security,” senior Maggie Gorman said.

And according to http://youngausskeptics.com, that’s just it. A sense of comfort.

At Sion, the sports superstition bug has definitely caught hold.  While some athletes don’t have any, there are a portion of them that do.

Take seniors Grace Keane and Jodie Rellihan, for example.

Both are big contributors to the Varsity Basketball team, and chock full of superstitious sports measures they take before each game.

Before every basketball game, Keane has to guzzle down a large diet coke, preferably from McDonalds.

“It’s delicious and energizes me. It might be an addiction,” Keane said while chuckling.

Keane also wears black socks for every game.  And during the game she has to take exactly three dribbles before a free-throw and say in her head, “basket time.”

Rellihan has a fair share of her superstitious ways, too.

“I used to have a lucky pair of shorts that said “hot shot” on them. I thought they made me shoot better. Get it?” Rellihan said.  “But then I lost them.”

Rellihan also laces her right shoe first and left shoe second before a game, and always makes sure to adjust her shorts when she steps up to the free-throw line.

It’s not only the basketball girls that are superstitious, though.  Softball players senior Chris Flucke and junior Tiffany Dercher also have their own measures they take.

“Right before I go up to bat, I do this every single time I step in the box: I lift my bat right in front of my facemask and take a deep breath. Then I put my left foot into the box, dig ‘til I find solid dirt, twirl my bat with my left hand twice and then put my right foot in and I’m good to go,” Flucke said.

Dercher always chews gum, even while she’s pitching.  Also, every time she gets on the mound, she drags her foot into the dirt and makes a line. She then picks up dirt and rubs it on her fingers so she can have a good grip on the ball.

Whether rational or irrational, many athletes across the globe have their own little action, thought, piece of clothing, etc. that helps them through nerve-wracking game time experiences.  And these athletes seem to believe these superstitious measures might be the difference between losing and winning a huge game, match, or meet.