Most football fans have prematch rituals designed to bring success to their team. I have recently realised that I no longer do mine. The team is doing so well that my little 'essential' prematch habits have been forgotten. Avoiding cracks in the pavement, crossing road at a certain spot etc have all disappeared with no apparent affect on team performance.
During the Great Escape season I noticed that my home shirt had been hung up inside out in the wardrobe when I went to put it on before the Blackburn game. As we fell 3-1 behind I decided that the insulted shirt was responsible, and daren't look fellow Saints in the eye lest they guess my involvement. We were doomed, no doubt. After snatching a draw in that game, the shirt was inside out in the wardrobe for the remainder of the season and the rest is history. Sadly, Saints have yet to reward me for my efforts, so should The Don be reading this a cheque for just a few of the millions that I saved Saints with my selfless clothes hanging would still be acceptable.
Years ago we were dangling in the relegation zone when I had to buy a new pair of tights in M and S on the way to the ground after tripping up..we gained a victory and I was forced to wear those tights for the rest of the season...ladders and all. However, my main point is that I no longer feel that Saints need divine intervention (unless Markus feels like lending a hand).
Not really a pre-match ritual but if I want to try and transmit some good luck during the game, I'll cross my fingers on the left hand if we're defending the Northam end or on the right if defending the Chapel goal. And during the last stint in the Championship it seemed that if we had to change ends before kick-off, we'd lose so now I always dread swaping ends. (But we've had to swap this season already so I guess they've broken that hoodoo!!) And I have to sit with my Dad on my right, can't have him on the left. Or maybe that's the OCD setting in..........
Had several odd things I used to do, years ago, but with this team it doesn't seem to matter. They just win often..
I've always wondered about the choosing of halves. It seems the team have a preference to playing towards the Northam Stand in the first half and the Chapel Stand in the 2nd. Why is this? Is it because of the sunlight being in the eyes during the first half or is it because of superstition? Maybe it's to do with the fans? Also who decides this? Is it Adkins or is it the whole team collectively? Mind you it's been like that for many seasons now. If anyone has any idea, I would be interested!
I always drink in the same pub before a game but I don't really have any superstitions. When I have not been a season ticket holder though I do tend to have bad years and good years depending on how the first game of the season I go to pans out. One good year was when I went to work in the States. The last game I saw was a home win against Spurs in October. We then failed to win a game whilst I was away and I returned in March to find us in the bottom three. I went to the next game at home to Newcastle and we won 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Ruddock. We then had a decent run and stayed up. Last season was actually a bad one. I saw the cup defeats early in the season (0-1 Bolton and 0-3 Swindon) and I went to the Brentford game (our last home defeat). I saw the 0-0 home draw with Brighton. I took my young son to the Bristol Rovers game and he wasn't enjoying it and wanted to leave early and we scored after I left. So come April I still hadn't seen Saints score a goal!! I could not stay away for the Charlton game and I finally saw us score a goal. That has started a good run as I saw Walsall and Preston this season. With 3 evening games coming up now I hope the run continues.
Sounds like you've had some rotten luck with the games you went to see! Hope you have better luck this season.
I've convinced myself ever since I was about 15 that Saints results are completely dependent on how productive/'good' I've been in the days leading up to a game. So for instance if I have a particularly lazy/debauched week, Saints will get a poor result. Whereas if I make an effort to get stuck into my work whilst throwing in a few good deeds, Saints will win. There doesn't seem to be a significant correlation to support this, and I of course know that I have absolutely zero influence on results, yet I still can't shake this ridiculous idea. As a result, I partly hold myself responsible for our descent to League One - but on the other hand I played a key part in us getting promoted last year and am also responsible for the good start to this season. So there you go.
I think we were all personally responsible for the 3-2 win against Sheffield United, in one way or another. I did my bit by banning my mum from going to the game.
I had a season a few years back where I was a complete jinx the whole season, If i watched the telly when Saints were on, or listened to the radio, or even just checked the score on the internet we would lose. Even worse If I couldnt even check in for the end of the game, I would pull up the latest scores with 10 minutes to go, we would be one up and within minutes we would concede a goal. I had to actually wait until the game had finished (injury time as well) before daring to check the result. Despite rationally knowing that my tuning in had absolutely zero effect on the outcome of the match I convinced myself that to make any attempt to follow the game doomed the team to failure so slavishly followed my "not knowing" routine for months! Fortunately the jinx was broken early the following season.
Although I said I'd dropped all the rituals, I empathise with Huddersaint. I have rarely seen the end of televised matches (and this even extends to England football and cricket), because if the match is tight I turn off because the opposition cannot score if you're not watching..fact!! The problem is that Saints is always the last to finish (why?)..you can't check the result until 4.55.
I too have noticed that, whether home or away our's is always one of the last results in. why is that? Also Scottish matches never seem to have any stoppage time. 4.45 on the dot Kilmarnock, Dunfermline, Dundee utd etc all start spilling through. dont they ever get any injuries?
'Cause the Refs don't want to stop watching beautiful football..? Which would also account for Scottish matches ending on the dot. please log in to view this image
I think whoever wins the toss chooses either to kick-off from the end they're at or to change ends and give up kick-off - ie on Tuesday next week if West Ham win the toss, they can choose to take kick-off in the Northam half or turn ends and Saints kick-off kick off in the Northam half. I think. Possibly. Meh.
I have to set off at about 8am for home games, and get to London Waterloo at about 10:00/11:00 so we always pick up a Burger King. I can never start to unwrap my food until the train starts moving. I have only ever done this once. It was when Nigel Adkins had his first, and only home league defeat. (vs Brentford - December 2010)
