Which piece of your UM gear is unlucky for games?

Submitted by iawolve on

Yes, some of us are this strange. Continue with the theme or feel free to provide the inverse if you possess some lucky clothing/hat that helps us win.

I have an absolutely sweet M polo-style shirt that I wore for the ND game last year. It also did not help generate a win vs Purdue(!) last year. Thinking it was coincidence, I had it on again for the ND game this year until mid-way into the second period when I could not tempt fate and put it back into the closet. Luckily, I single handedly won the game for us with that quick move...

Anyhow, I am now worried the shirt is cursed and cannot be trusted during games. This feeling intensified when Greg got into that bad surfing accident and there was a tarantula in the bed the next day. If I can only find that Tiki statue...

Blazefire

September 25th, 2009 at 9:30 AM ^

I have only ever attended one Michigan game that was a loss, and that was last season's Toledo game. Toledo is my alma, so the unluckiest thing you can do is attend a game where Michigan plays your alma mater.

CleverMichigan…

September 25th, 2009 at 9:31 AM ^

Anything I wore last year...

Seriously though, my dad always gets ticked when I'm superstitious like this because I am "a woman of science." (Exact words.)

Nonetheless, I have an Eli Manning jersey that is never to be worn by me on a Sunday. I had it on for the first half of Superbowl XLIII, got really paranoid because it was the first time I had worn that jersey during a game and had my neighbor put it on. Stuff starts turning around and then BAM- the catch.

Early last year, I was doubting the evil juju of the jinx jersey and wore it during the Browns game. Taking it off couldn't save us, and I am now convinced the jinx is getting stronger.

lbpeley

September 25th, 2009 at 9:34 AM ^

We've been having maize outs at my house since the 2006 campaign. Obviously 07 and even more so 08 took a dump on that parade. This year for the first game we told everyone to wear whatever they wanted and if UM wins you'd better be prepared to wear the same shit every Saturday. Of course none of us actually think it helps or not but you'd better pray to whoever that if UM loses and you're the one wearing something that's not the ususal you will be strung up.

bouje

September 25th, 2009 at 9:35 AM ^

When I first attended Michigan I didn't drink that much the first year and I opined that we never had any close games and that they were always blow-out wins for Michigan.

Then as I got older and started drinking more before games we started to do worse and worse. Then before and during the Appy State game I was pretty drunk coming into the game (and knew it was a big game and would be closer than most people expected) but one of my friends brought a couple flasks into the game and as Michigan kept playing worse and worse I kept drinking more and more.

Until I was pretty much black-out crying at the end of the App State game. Needless to say we pretty much did the same thing the next weekend, got wasted watched the game and got our asses handed to us.

Since then my rule is only slightly buzzed with no other forms of alcohol on your person. I personally think that it is stupid to go to a game wasted because what's the point of going if you don't remember it?

jcgary

September 25th, 2009 at 9:44 AM ^

In Hart's senior season I bought a #20 Blue Authentic Jersey. The first game I wore it for Hart was injured. Then we lost everytime I wore it. I thought I could brake it out for one or two games last year and that did not work. Needless to say I don't think I will ever wear that jersey again.

Jinxed

September 25th, 2009 at 9:51 AM ^

lol.. I can't believe you guys think that the destiny of the team rests on whether or not you wear a specific piece of gear on Saturday...

Not to be a buzz killer and I know I'm probably going to get negbanged by a few of you.. but it's a ridiculous thing to think..

bouje

September 25th, 2009 at 9:59 AM ^

fate of Michigan football/anything rests on our shoulders to do or not to do something.

But what if you're wrong. it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Voltaire on his death bed. When asked to renounce Satan he said "This is no time to make new enemies."

ThWard

September 25th, 2009 at 10:58 AM ^

Give me a break. Superstitions aren't about a legitimate belief that a collection of 11 players 1000 miles away from me will play a certain way based on what I'm wearing. It's obviously insane. It's sports-related anxiety, and similar to OCD patients who do things to relieve that anxiety, a ton of sports fans do the same. Subconscious or not, I doubt highly anyone "believes" they affect the game.

MMB 82

September 25th, 2009 at 9:58 AM ^

to try to exert some control over something we care about deeply (perhaps too deeply?) that we actually have no control over. It may not be rational, but it helps....

Seth

September 25th, 2009 at 11:11 AM ^

There's a friend of my father's who has been going to games since time immemorial, and more often than not, he's not using his extra ticket.

My freshman year I didn't get student tickets because I was already going with my dad's friends all the time. He sits behind where the band used to be.

When it would be that one guy, though, we would always lose.

Syracuse '98.

Lesson learned? No. I sat with him and my dad for Illinois in '99 (gave my student ticket to a frat bro).

Okay, so now I know not to sit with the guy, right? Well, no, not so much. Because we went to the Rosh Hashana game in 2000 against Wisconsin in his seats -- and lo and behold we're playing like crap. Later on I moved to sit with the fratres, and soon as I'm situated away from him, Terrell catches a TD pass to Tacopants with his fingertips and we win. Because I left that guy's seats?

I still won't accept tickets from him, which means my dad and I seldom go to games together anymore. Sometimes I think I'm nuts. I'm probably nuts. Okay, I'm definitely nuts.

* Gonna start a thread for this

wile_e8

September 25th, 2009 at 10:06 AM ^

I received a Michigan polo for Christmas in 2004, and the thing seems to be cursed. I wore it for the first time for the Rose Bowl vs. Texas right after I received it. The only other times I wore it after that were at work before the first game of the year (turned out OK in 2005 I guess, but not the next two years) and before the Ohio State game (crap).

Thankfully I received a different polo last year for Christmas, and I wore it at work for the first round game of the NCAA tournament in March and before the first football game this year. We'll see what the new shirt is made of when I wear it before the OSU game this year.

a2bluefan

September 25th, 2009 at 10:07 AM ^

I have a pair of season tix, and I take one of 3 or 4 different guys with me to the games. One guy in particular has become my good luck charm. Recent games we've won with him in attendance:

2009 Notre Dame
2008 Wisconsin
2005 Penn State

BigWeb17

September 25th, 2009 at 10:13 AM ^

my blue home jersey can't be worn at home games anymore after the Horror. It is still undefeated when I wear it at home. I purchased a personalized white jersey #17 that I will break in tomorrow.

d.

September 25th, 2009 at 10:16 AM ^

My number 1 Braylon Jersey has been tainted since "the Horror" and I won't wear it in the big house. I also have a Michigan Oxford long sleeve shirt that I wore every Friday at work following the '07 Oregon game. I couldn't find it anywhere last year(ergo, I take the blame for our entire '08 season). However, I found it, so we're all good now.

Mr. Maizenblue

September 25th, 2009 at 10:22 AM ^

I have been banned from road games. My Uncle ( the Guy who hooke me onto Michigan since the age of 1) will not allow me to attend the road games because we lose everytime.

The last road game I attended was the #1 vs #2 OSU game. I did not tell him I was going, told all family not to tell him. Spoke to him the morning of, he said " You better not be in Columbus", I lied and said "No". When the game ended, he called, and seriously the first words out of his mouth were....

" You liar, you are there, I know because WE LOST !!!" I still laugh about it.

So , no road games for me.

ThWard

September 25th, 2009 at 10:48 AM ^

That's big of you to admit.

I hate to say this, but my wife was bad luck during the 2007 season ... and my dad tends to be bad luck for live games (his last two - App State and Toledo).

In my wife's defense, she's reluctantly embraced my weird superstitions and just last night got mad at me when she thought I was going to write something over the "Go Blue" she had written on the chalkboard in our kitchen (pointing out to me that UM is 3-0 since she wrote it). So yes, I tend to be sort of weird about these things.

I don't have lucky clothing, but I do track the success rate of my viewing the games in different venues (specific bars in Chicago (I'm never watching another opener at Mad River), bars in general vs. watching live (my last 3 games live were Penn State when Mallett started, Miami OH, and ND... pretty good track record), or watching at home). In 2007, I swear to god, my net point total when watching UM at the bar was something like -80 with my net total when watching at home/live was something like +45.

tpilews

September 25th, 2009 at 10:50 AM ^

Holy hell, I'm about as superstitious as they come. I was a baseball player throughout most of my life, including college. So, if any of you here are baseball players, you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, last year was rough. The #1 jersey is not worn anymore by me. My ole lady wears hers, as do the dogs (German Shepherds). Last year, if the team started to play well, I wouldn't move. Keep the remote in the same hand, left leg up on the couch, right leg down. The #1 jersey was worn to the Toledo game.

I don't know what happened over the offseason, but I've kinda been cured, a little. The #4 jersey is the only one that comes out of the closet. That's the only superstition that I have right now. Feels good to not have to even think about it.

Elno Lewis

September 25th, 2009 at 11:00 AM ^

maybe you could call it michigan gear...i might be stretching the rules a bit...but...

my michigan rejection letter. i never get it out for games any more, espeically since the Horror.

for real.

Bosch

September 25th, 2009 at 11:06 AM ^

or anything that's deemed unlucky will get sacrificed before the next season begins.

On a related note, I give my brother my tickets to at least one garbage game per year. The past two seasons were App State and Toledo. The thought crossed my mind to sacrifice him.

I tempted fate this year and gave him my EMU tickets. He was probably sweating at halftime but Michigan pulls away and wins easy. Curse excuse goes away.

RichRodFollower

September 25th, 2009 at 11:07 AM ^

Speaking of unlucky, I was walking through Younkers Dept. Store and saw a blur of maize off to my right. I walked over and they were selling Michigan 2008 T-shirts with last year's schedule on them! I just walked away not wanting anything to do with them.

BaggyPantsDevil

September 25th, 2009 at 12:57 PM ^

I have a number 33, home jersey, circa 1996, that I used to put on for big games that Michigan invariably lost. If you go back over the last decade, any time Michigan lost to Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA, Oregon, etc, I was wearing that jersey. It took me a long time to accept it and even after I figured it out I would still wear it sometimes with bad results. Back in 2006, when Michigan should have throttled Ball State but the game was close, that was because I wore my cursed jersey even though I knew better. Now I do, and I do not wear that jersey under any circumstances.

If you’re interested on the history of my cursed jersey you can read about it here.

xuwolverine

September 25th, 2009 at 2:09 PM ^

before the 2006 season my buddy and I decided a sacrifice needed to be made for a successful year. That sacrifice was my away Drew Henson jersey. The reason was because for about 4 seasons that jersey stunk of bad luck. I thought it was all mental but something strange happened. During the 2003 game against Minnesota when we played on a Friday night and had the insufferable Mike Golic do our game we fell behind at half time and subsequently gave up about 676 rushing yards. So I took off the jersey and went out for some air. The second half started and the rest was history.

So before the 2006 game against Notre Dame we decided Drew's jersey had to go. We went out on to our front porch and literall burned it in one of those mini grills. It was pretty anti-climatic to watch. But everyone felt much better after Burgesses' int for a td and the following demolition in South Bend. I guess you could say i am superstitious. Go Blue.

bighousechris

September 25th, 2009 at 2:09 PM ^

I will never ever ever wear a jersey again. I wore a brand-spankin' new Marquise Walker jersey to the OSU game in 01 and we got beat at home 26-20. I remember being the one of the last people to leave the stands that day. I was so pissed off I just stood there and stared at the field replaying the huge runs up the gut that we suffered on that dreary, rainy day.

No. jerseys. ever. again. EVER.

BrayBray1

September 25th, 2009 at 2:25 PM ^

Use to be my lucky shirt. Every gameday you could find me screaming at the TV with that shirt on. Then came "The Horror". We all know how that dirty bitch ended, so we won't go there, but needless to say, my "lucky shirt" has never seen the light of gameday since. Now I just have to figure out how my formerly lucky shirt got jinxed, because back in the day, wearing that thing during the game would make for an automatic "W".

Big Boutros

September 25th, 2009 at 2:34 PM ^

I have a white M hat with a blue brim that murders my soul every time I wear it for Michigan/Capitals sporting events. I bury it under a bunch of spare blankets in my bedroom closet on game days and I try to wear it exclusively on safe days, like Tuesday.