In sports, superstition is tradition: Break out the lucky socks

When I was a kid, I played soccer with a girl who wore the same sparkly barrette in her hair every single game. It didn’t match our uniforms and it didn’t have any particular sentimental value to her, but she was wearing it when we won our first big game.

From then on, the barrette was there to stay.

Athletes in every sport, of every age and skill level, have traditions and rituals that precede games. In that way, they’re a little like sailors: superstitious, because so much of their livelihood depends on circumstances out of their control.

The slightest gust of wind, a chance shoelace, a frea...