What do your six-year-old brother, who will only eat a PB&J before his T-ball game, and Michael Jordan, who wore his lucky UNC basketball shorts under his Chicago Bulls jersey, have in common? They are both superstitious. Athletes, no matter what age or skill level, develop routines and practice them religiously. Confidence and peace of mind are huge components to the success of professional and amateur athletes.  Whether someone has been playing for one year or 20, their pre-game rituals remain the same. If the old rituals aren’t working, a new superstition will be born.

Professional athletes have been known to go to extremes to escape a funk and improve their performance. Jason Giambi, former New York Yankee first baseman and designated hitter, wore a gold thong to break out of hitting slumps during his career. The gold thong made its way around the Yankee clubhouse, continually ending slumps and bringing smiles to struggling hitters’ faces. Yankee legend and captain, Derek Jeter, admitted to wearing it one time and hitting a homerun on his first at bat after being in a cold streak at the plate. Throughout his career, Giambi and his teammates embraced the power and superstition of the gold thong is sometimes you have to sacrifice comfort in one area to gain it in another.

LS sophomore Qizhi Wong, a golfer from Singapore, and CAS freshman Mary Tindall, a softball player from Houston, TX, have both held personal superstitions and experienced others’ superstitions throughout their athletic careers.

Wong has played golf for 10 years, now playing for the NYU varsity golf team. He once played alongside a player who was averse to tees that were any color other than black.

“I once played with someone who could and would only hit a ball with a black tee.” Wong said. “He believed that if the color was something other than black, it would distract his eyes which would cause him to hit a bad shot.”

Everybody has his or her own preferences, right? This golfer went to the extent of playing an entire round of golf without teeing up a single golf ball after a particular golf course didn’t sell black tees and his own supply ran dry.

Wong’s own superstition can be seen in his pre-shot routine, which consists of a motivational message before every shot.

“I guess my pre-shot routine came about in a tournament when the shot really mattered,” Wong said. “I muttered to myself ‘Come on Cheech’ just to motivate myself. I managed to hit a good golf shot which bumped me a few spots up in the tournament. I have been doing that ever since.” The 22-year-old golfer says that when he doesn’t follow his routine, his results usually reflect it.

CAS freshman Mary Tindall has been playing softball since she was seven years old. Tindall recalls a time when she played on a team where every single player had her own handshake that had to be performed before the game. This routine consistently pushed back the start of games and caused the umpires to stand and wait. In addition, she has many superstitions of her own.

“I always have to put my left sock on before my right sock, and my left cleat before my right cleat,” Tindall said. “I listen to the same playlist before every game and I wear the same hat every game. I never step on the foul line in warm-ups and I never go first in fielding drills. Before every at bat I draw a cross with my bat on the plate and say the same prayer.”

Tindall’s longest and most sacred superstition is her sock and cleat routine, with the rest falling into place in high school. The freshman corner infielder once broke her sock and cleat rule at a tournament, forgot her headphones and was quick pitched by the opposing pitcher.

“For almost that whole tournament I was in the biggest hitting slump I have ever been in,” Tindall said.

Regardless of whether superstitions are true, these routines can ease an athlete’s mind and instill confidence before a high-pressure game. For many, breaking a superstition can mean a devastating loss or a bad game — and most athletes would rather not take that risk.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Feb. 6 print edition. Email Trevor Francesconi at [email protected].