Paul Bixby , Bears Super Fan

Rituals

On Friday's episode of his radio show, Penn Jillete, was talking about superstitions and magical thinking, relevant because it was Friday the 13th. One of his callers is a fan of the New Jersey Devils (John, about 33:40 into the show) and believes that if he begins watching a game, he must keep watching that game in order for the Devils to win, or if he has not begun watching the game, he must avoid watching it in order for the Devils to win. Penn talked about a few rituals he has (such as saying "that's funny" when someone sneezes - sort of a long story, but he, like me, is a vocal atheist, so he really won't say God Bless You or any derivative thereof and he thinks people sneezing is really funny) and how as an atheist, he gives no credence whatsoever to superstitions. When Penn asked what happens if he does all of his rituals and they still lose, John replied "Then I didn't do them well enough," in a half-serious tone.

I listen to the show as a podcast on my mp3 player so I didn't listen to it until yesterday before the game and thus this ritualistic belief system and supersitions was on my mind as I was watching the game. Every game prior to this one, I have worn some items of Bears clothing, eaten a seriously large percentage of a bag of Doritos and drunk a beer (or three). Yesterday, I wore no Bears clothes, had no Doritos and had no beer during the first half. Being very frustrated with my computer's slow internet connection, I decided I'd had enough and moved to the couch with a bag of Doritos and a bottle of Sam Adams.

Then:

I eat a few chips, take a few sips and Mike Brown gets a rip! Touchdown! As I kept eating, the breaks kept going the Bears way (well, Defense and Special Teams only).

My wife (who is vacationing with her mother) called me just as Devin Hester grabbed a punted ball and ran it 83 yards to the bank. I told her how the Bears only got hot when I sat down with the Doritos and beer and she told me that her mom had not watched a single Bears game up to that point, but, being on vacation (in Iowa, of all places), found a sports bar and caught the game. Of course, the Bears were terrible. They only started to improve when they left the bar and she fell asleep in the hotel room, making it impossible (obviously) for her to watch the game. I think she made an offhanded comment about not watching them the rest of the season.

I bring it up because I don't really have any superstitions or rituals or believe in luck. I think a person makes their own luck and that luck is generally just capitalized opportunity. However, there is a little voice in the back of my brain saying "Better invest in Doritos; it's going to be a long season" and "You never know, it might or it might not help, but it sure couldn't hurt."

I take it as obvious that one fan doesn't have the power to determine a team's fate. If it were true, every team would win every week. However, they are fun.

What I really want to know is if any of you have any rituals? Is there something you must do, say or wear or eat every week for every game to insure a victory? What gets the Bears mojo rising?