Sports superstitions: What nutty stuff do you do to make yourself feel like you have some control over the fate of the team you love?

You said it, Dipsomaniac. During last year's Sox/Yanks Game 7, my friend called another Sox fan friend during the fifth inning and left a message saying "It's looking good!" We all know what happened next. He didn't admit this to anyone else until just a few days ago. He is, of course, banned from using the phone tonight.

Sox are looking good tonight!

Bastard!

I douse Jason Varitek's glove in glue so he's ready when Wakefield enters the game.

I'm tempted to post this as an AskMeFi question, but I'll just stick it here: WHY was Lowe taken out?? He was pitching like the reincarnation of Walter Johnson, one hit over six innings... you take him out and put in "the Yankees are my daddy"?! My wife (from Massachusetts) said if the Sox blow the lead she's never watching baseball again. Why is my wife being made to suffer? And don't tell me God's ways are mysterious.

Well, thank you, Schoolgirl Report, for your powerful mojo. Langhat, I don't know. I just don't know. But it doesn't matter! There was a lot of suffering here at CasaSidhedevil also--Mr. Sidhedevil was bellowing imprecations from the living room.

Lowe may well have been tired, as he was pitching on just two days' rest. As to why Pedro was brought in, I have no fucking clue. I find it incomprehensible.

Congratulations, schoolgirl report. It worked. Go CARDS!

I feel I must hang my head in shame, for it was http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/29003 This year I kept my friggin' trap shut, and it seems to have done the trick. Also, if you're wearing any team stuff when they start the playoffs, you must always wear it, but if you're not, don't go grabbing a cap in the middle of the game because it won't work. The baseball gods don't like that kind of crap. An anecdotal sidenote: During the http://members.tripod.com/redsox75/game62.html it's reported that at the top of the 12th inning, Pete Rose stepped up to the plate and remarked to Sox catcher Carlton Fisk "This is some kind of game, huh?" Proof positive that you must keep your mouth shut and contain your enthusiasm for the moment, and never project possibility. And languagehat: not only was Lowe not fully rested (no one was!) but he's actually been doing far worse this year than last. He's been pretty pissed at management for keeping him out of the lineup, but frankly his performance up until this game was mediocre at best. The only reason they went with him was because having Varitek catching for Wakefield would have been suicide (too many passed balls = too many runners advancing). Lowe did his job, but as last year showed, it's folly to leave someone in after they've done their job. PS - Foulk rocks.