Lucky Shirts, Same Seats: Football Superstitions
Why superstitions survive
Football gives fans almost no control over outcomes. You can watch, shout and suffer, but you cannot touch the ball. Superstitions are one response to that helplessness: if the shirt works, wear it; if the seat is lucky, sit in it.
The interesting thing about football superstitions is that fans maintain them even while knowing they are irrational. Interviewed after a win, most will laugh about the lucky scarf. But they will still wear it next week.
The ones players keep
Fans are not the only ones. Players are famously superstitious. Some always put the same boot on first. Some have to be the last person to leave the dressing room. Some touch a specific part of the stadium every time they walk out.
Managers get it too. José Mourinho was known to wear the same coat for entire winning runs. Rafael Benítez is said to have kept particular hotel rooms for away matches after wins.
None of this makes logical sense. All of it makes emotional sense.
The same seat
The same-seat superstition is perhaps the most common among match-going fans. Seat allocation in grounds makes this difficult for those with season tickets, but those attending occasional games will often seek out the same spot, sometimes buying tickets in a specific block because it worked before.
One survey of English football fans found that roughly one in three had a specific match-day ritual they believed affected results. The most common was wearing the same item of clothing for the duration of a winning run.
More articles
Why Penalty Shootouts Feel Unfair (But Aren't)
The science behind the most nerve-shredding moment in sport.
The Stadiums with the Best Atmosphere
Anfield, Borussia Dortmund, Boca Juniors — what makes a ground electric.
Women's Football: What Changed After 2022
How the Euros and the World Cup changed the sport in two years.