University of North Carolina Athletics
Game Week Brings Rituals For Tar Heels
August 29, 2007 | Football
Aug. 29, 2007
By Turner Walston
Shortly before 6 o'clock Saturday afternoon, the 2007 Tar Heels will run out of the tunnel at Kenan Stadium before a sellout crowd. The fans will be ready to see Butch Davis's first Tar Heel team. The coaches will have the game plan prepared. The players will be ready. But just how will they get mentally focused?
"Every team has to develop a personality of how they get ready emotionally for a ballgame," Davis said. "Every kid is different. Each one of them gets ready in their own way."
Many athletes have had superstitions or rituals to give them confidence, or to get in the right frame of mind for a game. Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs ate chicken before every game of his career. Many hockey players grow "playoff beards," refusing to shave until after their runs in the Stanley Cup playoffs are over. Michael Jordan wore his Carolina shorts under his NBA uniform.
But by and large, this group of Tar Heels is not relying on superstition to kick off the 2007 season. They are confident that repetitions in practice and visualization will propel them to success on game day.
"I try to work as hard as I can in practice, and just `mental rep' as much as I can," redshirt freshman quarterback T.J. Yates said. "Trust your hard work, and trust your reps that you got in practice, so when game time comes around, you don't have to be worrying about all that stuff."
That seems to fit with Davis's philosophy. "I think that a lot of games are won and lost long before the game is ever kicked off because of the way that you practice, the amount of time that you put in, and the preparation," the coach said. "I love the fact that when you come to the stadium on game day that you just go play the game, that there are no regrets."
Senior kicker Connor Barth said his game week preparation is mostly mental. "Every night, I try to visualize myself kicking on the field," he said. "Wherever we're kicking, home or away, I'll see myself on that field, kicking the ball through the uprights."
This year, senior center Scott Lenahan said he will continue a tradition he began with former teammate Brian Chacos. "I'd always get in the hot tub the night before (a game) to kind of loosen my muscles up," he said. And just before the game? "I always say a prayer and listen to a little bit of music." The man most of his teammates know as "Tank" said he prefers an eclectic mix. "Usually a little Pantera or Slayer," he said. "Maybe some Pastor Troy. It's different, but mostly upbeat things."
Some players abandoned superstition when they graduated to the college game. "In high school, I wore the same undergarments for every game," said sophomore center Lowell Dyer. "At this point, you have the stuff, you know what you need to do, you've just got to go out there and do it. I don't think wearing the same clothes, or doing the same this or that, is going to help you."
Junior linebacker Chase Rice may in fact be superstitious about not being superstitious. "I've tried to stay away from that. If you can't do something that you usually do, then you're going to think, `Oh, I'm going to play bad' just because you couldn't do it," he said. "You can't let something that small ruin your game."
Freshman defensive tackle Marvin Austin said he has no fancy rituals, and he won't adopt one as he starts his career as a Tar Heel. "I just look at myself in the mirror and say, `Let's go,'" he said.
Likewise, sophomore running back Richie Rich keeps it simple. "I'm not a very superstitious person, really," he said. "I really just go about it like I do every day. I just pray before every game. That's about it."
Perhaps junior wide receiver Brandon Tate has the most practical pre-game ritual, if you can call it that. "I use the bathroom every time before I go out," he said.
