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When would wearing ragged socks that haven’t been washed in a decade be socially acceptable? If said socks were first worn when your sports team won the championship according to junior volleyball player Joie Graves.
There are few other events that bring about such superstitions, rituals and traditions more than sports.
Because competing is superstitious business, athletes and fans alike will do whatever it takes to get the win, including getting tattoos … of the temporary kind.
“For districts, the volleyball team brought Avengers and biker gang temporary tattoos,” Graves said. “We put them on our arms and stomachs so that we looked bada–.”
Aiming to put a similar fear into their components, members of the men’s swim and dive team bleach their hair bright gold near the beginning of their season.
But that’s only one of many traditions according to junior Aaron Tracey.
“Every year we also have a spirit week to lead up to SECs. We normally try to make up new themes for each day, but we always have a safari day,” Tracey said. “We also do crazy hair cuts before SECs and sing ‘Hero’ by Enrique Iglesias after home meets in the locker room.”
Following this team’s lead and with an attribution to school spirit, the members of the women’s swim and dive team dyed their hair maroon for states.
But that’s not their only tradition.
“We shave our legs together the day before our last meet,” junior Reagan Maisch said. “It’s supposed to make us go faster, but it also helps with team bonding because we’re all in the same boat.”
Following the hair theme that can be seen with the swim teams, the men’s cross country team also has a sacred tradition: mohawks.
“It started five years ago, and since then we all get mohawks the day before regionals, and we keep them until states,” senior Justin Skiver said.
But whatever the tradition, the end goal is the same.
Graves said, “Even though our traditions don’t really help us win, doing something as a team makes us stronger.”
