Collingwood’s summer signing, Adam Treloar, has revealed his pre-match preparations but it’s not only those in the AFL that have sporting superstitions.
Speaking on SEN radio, the young star who moved from Greater Western Sydney in the off season, said, “(I have to) wear red jocks, shave my legs, watch The Simpsons and put my clothes on left side to right side first.”
“I (shaved my legs) one time – before one of my first AFL games. Maybe my third game – I shaved my legs that day and it was my best game up until that day and then I just did it from then on.
“I do it no matter what – whether I’ve got prickly legs, whether there’s no hair to shave off, I still do it.
“I give myself half an hour to prepare (for a game). While I’m in the shower, I can chuck the DVD on the laptop and watch The Simpsons while I sit on the toilet and shave my legs at the same time.
“I’m really experienced now – I don’t tend to cut my legs anymore.”
Too much information perhaps! Of course, he’s not the only sports star to have a few strange routines they follow before competing. Here are some of our favourites.
- Tiger Woods always wears a red shirt when competing on Sundays (typically the last day of a tournament) because he believes it to be his lucky colour.
- Tiger Woods isn’t the only sports star with an affinity with the colour red. Australian cricketing great Steve Waugh always carried the red handkerchief his grandfather gave him for luck.
- Despite being an AFL great, Tony Locket used the same tatty Adidas bag throughout his career, even after signing a sponsorship deal with rival Puma.
- English soccer great Bobby Moore used to wait until every other player had put their shorts on in the dressing room before he would don his.
- Tennis star Rafael Nadal should perhaps top the list just for the sheer number of rituals he goes through before and during a match. He always makes sure he crosses the line with his right foot first, takes an ice cold shower, eats his energy in a specific manner, jumps during the coin toss, arrive on court with one tennis racket in his hand and lines up his water bottles in a straight line with all labels facing the same way.
Do you have any quirky routines or superstitions that would rival those above?
