The 12 Strangest Superstitions Pro Athletes Have Harnessed For Good Luck

Sports and superstitions go hand in hand, as players and fans alike tend to gravitate toward certain traditions and rituals in the hopes of shifting the universe in their favor. However, there are certainly some odd ones that stand out from the pack more than others.

Most sports fans who subscribe to superstitions don’t actually believe they’re influencing the universe by sitting in a supposedly lucky chair or rocking a particular jersey that seemingly exudes positive vibes, but that’s usually not going to stop them from sticking to them just in case.

That’s also the case with many athletes who’ve embraced various rituals that probably don’t have any tangible impact on their performance or the outcome of a game, including the ones responsible for some of the more head-turning traditions I’ve encountered.

Michael Jordan's Shorts

Most basketball fans are probably aware Michael Jordan played at the University of North Carolina before cementing himself as one of the most legendary NBA players of all time.

He never strayed too far from the Tar Heels after making the leap, as he wore the practice shorts he rocked en route to winning a national championship with UNC under his uniform in every NBA game.

Jason Giambi's Magic Golden Thong

Most MLB players are going to find themselves dealing with a batting slump at some point in time, and they’ll usually go to great lengths to get out of it.

Working with coaches to retool your swing is probably the most effective approach, but Jason Giambi took a slightly different one when he started wearing a golden thong to turn things around.

The best part? Some of his teammates (including Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon) admitted they borrowed it to bounce back from slumps of their own.

Patrick Mahomes' Red Underwear

Patrick Mahomes’ wife gifted him a pair of red underwear ahead of his first season with the Chiefs, and he’s worn the same ones in every game he’s played since then after his career got off to a promising start.

He does wash them on a fairly regular basis, but he’s admitted he’ll forgo a rinse cycle if Kansas City is riding a hot streak.

Sidney Crosby's Jock Strap

Sidney Crosby had already established himself as one of the best rising hockey players in Canada when he made the leap to the junior level and joined the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

His list of equipment included a black Reebok jock strap that has somehow stood the test of time, as he’s been wearing the same one he first donned as a teenager for the entirety of his NHL career.

Connor McDavid's Socks

Sid the Kid isn’t the only NHL superstar who’s still clinging to the past by rocking some equipment from his younger days.

Connor McDavid developed an affinity for a particular brand of socks that provided him with an ideal grip that was unequaled by any of the alternatives he’d tried before being drafted.

Unfortunately, the company that made them eventually stopped producing them, and his solution was to keep wearing the ones he had even though he’s worn through the toes.

Serena Williams' Socks

If you’ll allow me to stick with the theme, McDavid isn’t the only generational talent who has a sock-related superstition.

Serena Williams wasn’t attached to any specific type during her career, but she would wear the same exact pair as she advanced through a tournament and reportedly declined to wash them in between matches to avoid washing away the good juju.

When you consider she won 73 WTA singles tournaments and 23 Grand Slams by herself, the approach seemed to work out pretty well.

Jason Terry's Pajama Shorts

Jason Terry started wearing basketball shorts to bed when he was in college, and he took things to the next level after heading to the NBA by amassing a sizeable collection that allowed him to wear a pair worn by the team he was facing off against in the next game to bed.

He also ate chicken before every single game, a habit he shares with…

Wade Boggs' Chicken

Many professional athletes incorporate a ton of chicken into their diet thanks to the amount of protein it packs, but Wade Boggs took things to the next level during his Hall of Fame career.

The man who spent 18 seasons in the MLB published a chicken-centric cookbook called “Fowl Tips,” which required him to down plenty of it while perfecting the recipes before it was published in 1984.

He just so happened to win the batting title that year, so he continued to house the meat before every game to the point where one of his teammates eventually dubbed him “Chicken Man.”

Caron Butler's Mountain Dew

You need plenty of energy if you’re going to make a living as a professional athlete, and many players turn to supplements to give themselves a boost before a game.

That includes Caron Butler, who turned to caffeine while playing basketball at UConn before heading to the NBA. However, he didn’t drink coffee but rather an entire two-liter bottle of Mountain Dew (typically downing half before a game and the remainder at halftime).

Kobe Bryant forced him to quit that habit when he joined the Lakers in 2004, but he got back to his old ways when he headed to the Wizards the following season.

John Henderson's Slapping Ritual

Butler’s Mountain Dew addiction almost seems sane when you compare it to the route former NFL defensive tackle John Henderson went to get amped up before games: having a trainer slap him in the face as hard as possible.

You could argue it technically doesn’t fit the definition of a superstition, but it’s too strange for me to omit.

Jerry Tarkanian's Towel

I’m aware Jerry Tarkanian was a college basketball coach as opposed to a pro athlete, but I think it’s worth breaking from the theme due to the impressively eccentric nature of his trademark quirk.

The skipper is best known for what he achieved at UNLV, but he started his career at Long Beach State and found himself grappling with a dry mouth during games.

While most people would combat that issue with a cup or bottle of water, a student manager handed Tarkanian a waterlogged towel to suck on, and that solution stuck.

Les Miles' Grass-Eating Habit

I’m going to close things out with another coach, but I promise this one is worth it because it somehow puts the last entry to shame.

In 2010, cameras captured LSU’s Les Miles leaning down to the field to pluck the grass he promptly started chewing on during a game against Alabama, and while it was the first time that habit came to most people’s attention, it wasn’t the first time he’d done it.

Miles later revealed it could be traced back to his time as a baseball player as a kid who was exiled to right field and needed something to distract him during games. From there, it grew into what he said was “a little tradition that humbles me as a man, that lets me know that I’m a part of the field and part of the game.”