It's Only Superstitious If It Doesn't Work

Dear Northwestern Football,
My deepest apologies.  I am fully to blame for your three losses this year, and I regret not having done my part to ensure your victory.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize how exact I must be to guarantee a win.  I have rectified my error, however, and I promise to do my part this coming Saturday.

Do you remember when I wrote about my football nail art that I've been doing this season?  Well, apparently, it isn't good enough to simply do it.  The weeks you played Penn State and Nebraska?  Well, I was a little lazy.  For Penn State, I did the brown on Friday but finished up the manicure Saturday morning while at Mister Man's Tae Kwon Do.  And Nebraska?  I did that one completely on Saturday morning.  Michigan is the most embarrassing.  I simply forgot to do it and left on my old manicure.

I was doing the rest of it right.  I got my venti Starbucks in the morning.  I dressed in purple.  And I wore my NU football necklace and 'Cats earrings.  I've confirmed that the purple ring doesn't make a difference one way or the other, but I didn't realize how crucial the football manicure was.

This week when you played Michigan State, I made sure to complete my football manicure Friday night.  Even though I didn't get home until late, I made sure to stay up long enough to complete the football nail art and let it dry.

And it worked!  (Of course.)

I promise to ensure that I get my manicure completed this Friday before the Illinois game.  After all, it's my birthday that day, and what better present than an NU win?

Love,

Why, Yes I Am Superstitious; I'm A Sports Fan

This past Saturday, I went to the Northwestern Iowa football game with three of my girlfriends, as my husband was out of town on a Boy Scout camping trip with Mister Man. We had a blast, but ... it wasn't always easy.

After we tailgated with some mutual friends, we headed inside the stadium to our seats. I broke out my chamois and wiped down our seats, as it was raining. Then I ushered my friends past me to their seats. Because I sit on the far left. Every game.

Just like I wear the same shirt. And earrings. And necklace. And I get a venti nonfat caramel macchiato from Starbucks. I was a little worried because with my husband out of town, I had to go get it instead of him, and I wasn't sure how that would impact anything.

As the game wore on, things looked good. Northwestern was leading 7-3 at halftime. That's when my friend on the other end of our group switched seats with the friend sitting next to me. She isn't much of a football fan, and she had gotten slightly wet and was cold sitting on the end of our group. When she sat down next to me, I told her that she might have to move back to her old seat, then we continued our conversation.

As Iowa scored a touchdown early in the third quarter to take the lead 10-7, I looked at my friend and told her, "Anabel isn't long for this seat." She laughed and told me the young Hawkeye fan ahead of us had turned around with a shocked look because he actually believed me.

We then had a five minute back and forth with me trying to explain to her that I actually was serious. If she had disturbed the flow of the game by moving seats, she'd have to go back to her original seat to ensure Northwestern could win. She still didn't think I was serious - partly because I was laughing at the fact that she couldn't comprehend sports superstitions.

When the Hawkeyes scored again to make it 17-7, I told her that as much as I loved her, she needed to go back to her original seat. It had stopped raining and wasn't cold anymore - plus she had a nice fan sitting on the other side to keep her warm. And yes, she still had our other friends sitting next to her to talk to.

Yes, it's silly. I'll fully admit that. Sports are full of superstitions, and I have my ... share of them, too. But hey, once she moved, Northwestern picked off Ricky Stanzi and scored a touchdown. After holding Iowa, they scored another touchdown. And held Iowa again. And won the game.

Good to know that if I have to get my own caramel macchiato on game days, it doesn't impact the final score. Interestingly, this was also a weekend in which my husband didn't mention the words "bowl game" (they've been banned from my house), and they finally turned around their losing streak....

So do you think I'm utterly nuts now? (PS No, my friend doesn't hate me and wasn't mad, but she does think I'm a goofball. Fortunately, we're both ok with that. Right, Anabel?)



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