He doesn't wash his favorite team jersey. On game day he will start to drink his beer exactly 34 minutes prior to kick off. He dresses his children in the exact same outfit as he did the previous Sunday, and he sits in his lucky chair. Why? Because this is exactly what he did last week and his favorite NFL team won their game.
Rituals like this take place all over the world as week after week during the NFL season the helpless fan has an opportunity to do something that will aid in their teams victory or downfall.
Jacob Masters is the self-proclaimed #1 Detroit Lions fan and he personally takes the blame for their 0-12 start to the 2008 season. "I have to work on Sunday" Masters explains. "I can't be consistent week in and week out but I document my every move. The week that they do win I will have the formula for success!"
Frank Stanley's story is the same...but different. "I do everything exactly the same for each game. I sit in my bathrobe with my work boots on but untied. I have a 12-pack of Nattie-Light in a cooler at my feet, I send the wife to the grocery store and I only go to the bathroom at half-time. I even eat the exact same food!" Although Stanley performs the same ritual each week he admits that there is always something that occurs that is different. "Sometimes the phone rings or someone knocks at the door but I think I'm getting close and then I can pass on my findings to others."
We spoke to many who had similar rituals as Stanley and Master's, and at the end of our interviews we asked each one of them the same question, "What if the rituals you perform on game day are not the reason behind your teams win or loss? What if it's what you do on the previous day or maybe the entire week?" Masters punched this reporter in the face and leaped through an open window.
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