Devin Harris is doing pretty well for himself.
The former UW men's basketball star guard is only 21 years old, but is already extremely successful-as he averages 8.3 points per game in his NBA rookie season with the Dallas Mavericks. He is also rich, signing a three-year contract worth $8,842,440 earlier this year.
Harris is also very superstitious. He told a Cardinal reporter last year that if he has a bad first half, he moves quickly into the locker room, talks to no one and immediately changes his shoes and socks. Senior guard and former teammate Sharif Chambliss said Harris always wore his old high school basketball shorts under his Wisconsin uniform before heading to the NBA.
This trend of superstitions must be the reason many athletes, including Harris, are successful, right?
\Not exactly,"" New York psychologist and www.psychsports.com editor Dr. Richard Lustberg said.
Superstitions are not a proven theory; they are hypotheses that differ for every individual, according to Lustberg.
""There is not one or two constructs for every person. While some truly believe stepping on cracks or wearing old college shorts under their professional jerseys will help them win, others do not believe in superstitions at all,"" Lustberg said. ""The spectrum ranges from zero to 100.""
Every Wisconsin athlete fits somewhere on the spectrum, regardless of whether or not they choose to wear old clothing under new garments. Men's hockey freshman defender Joe Piskula does not have any superstitions because he said he ""just knows"" when he is going to have a good game. However, teammate junior forward Adam Burish, always puts baby powder in the bottom of his skates and fellow forward, sophomore Robbie Earl takes his superstitions to a different extreme.
""You kind of want to keep the same routine, the same pattern. After a good game, you want to do what you did before: Eating at the same time every day, taping your stick in a certain way, putting your socks on by going from left to right,"" Earl said.
For those who believe superstitions are the right way to go, Lustberg said there is nothing wrong with believing in superstitions because if it helps build morale and confidence, it can only improve upon a person's performance.
""In performance, people use superstitions as a coping mechanism. You use them to make you feel better about the wide range of emotions,"" Lustberg said. ""That's really the heart of it. If it is a comfort, then that's great.""
Freshman tennis player Jeremy Sonkin, who finished the fall season as the team's top singles player, feels comforted when he plays with the same ball, but only if he keeps winning with it, he said. He tries to wear the same outfit and even washes his uniform at night so he can wear it the next day-but only if it may help him win. He flips his racket in a similar fashion during a winning campaign. If he loses a point, a game or a match, he flip-flops his flipping because he lost.
Winning has been called everything in sports, and if something helps, people are inclined to continue the superstition, which then becomes routine. Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Bill Parcells will not pick up ""lucky"" pennies and Babe Ruth used to drink mouthwash before every game during a hot streak because the trends helped them win, according to Lustberg.
Fans also consider themselves to be lucky, as many people practice superstitions with the hope (and sometimes true belief) they help their team win.
""We have this regular who comes in for every hockey game. He always has on his red and white striped overalls. Every single time,"" said Rob Bouhan, an assistant bar manager at the Nitty Gritty Bar and Restaurant, 223 Frances St.
Overall, fans have minor superstitions that they hope will help the Badgers win, though there are some more extreme routines out there.
""I decided I should exactly wear what I wore to the Minnesota game for the Iowa game because I thought it would help us win,"" UW-Madison freshman Kristin Konieczka said. ""But I have a friend who used to always fast before games because she kind of thought she would give her nutrition to the Badgers. She usually doesn't eat during the day of the game until the game's completed, but one time, a couple years ago, she fasted for almost a week.""
And that is when superstitions can become dangerous, according to Lustberg. Former baseball All-Star Wade Boggs woke up at the same time every day, took batting practice at 5:17 p.m. and ran sprints at 7:17p.m. He ate chicken before every game and drew the Hebrew word ""Chai,"" meaning ""life,"" in the batter's box before each at-bat.
""That borders on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,"" Lustberg said. ""It gets bad when it interferes with your life. It's like drinking, if you drink every night and can't get up for class, it hurts more than it helps. It's only to the degree you partake.""
Still, Wisconsin, ranked last year as the top college sports town by ""Sports Illustrated on Campus,"" has Badger sports instilled as a part of the community. A large part does partake in superstitions-even if they do not entirely believe they can enhance players and teams' performances.
""I always watch the away football games at home with my dad because it's comforting. One time I was going to watch the game with my friends, but I decided that I couldn't switch up my routine,"" UW-Madison junior Gabrielle Cummings said. Cummings is engaged to Wisconsin senior punter R.J. Morse.
""I always wear a pin with his picture on it during home games and I always wear a pair of his high school football sweatpants during away games because I think they're good luck,"" she said.
But what about the Iowa game (in which Wisconsin lost 30-7, ending their Rose Bowl hopes)?
""Oh, let's not talk about Iowa. I had nothing to do with that,"" Cummings said.
