Sports is a haven for superstition. In most areas of life someone would get completely ridiculed for wincing at the number 13, or for turning their hats inside out in order to usher in some good luck. Could you imagine a trader on the NYSE floor flipping his jacket inside out in hopes of seeing a bump in stocks? Actually, that might be the one other scenario in life that’s bro enough to see someone rewarded for showing superstition. But more often than not you’re viewed as being a massive pussy if you give in to superstition (full moon, the number 13, black cat crosses your path), which makes it all the more hilarious that people are going completely ape shit over this picture taken during last Sunday’s Browns vs. Chargers game in San Diego. Here’s the pic, let’s see how much of it you notice:
Most people will see that the play count is ‘3rd and 13′, the score is ’13 to 13’, it is the 3rd quarter and the clock is sitting at 13:13. Most people will fail to notice however that Josh McCown is standing at the top right of that photo wearing the number 13 jersey.
Now for people who are superstitious this picture is an absolute nightmare. However, for someone like me whose birthday lands on the 13th this actually might be the luckiest photo I’ve ever seen. In fact I’m thinking about printing this picture out in a wallet sized version and carrying it around with me for good luck. So, what does it all mean? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Superstition does nothing other than help someone relieve anxiety, but more often than not it just builds anxiety.
Already the picture on Imgur/Reddit has been viewed OVER TWO MILLION TIMES since Sunday’s game, with most of the comments talking about ‘luck’ and ‘witchcraft’. And in that game the Cleveland Browns went on to lose to the San Diego Chargers by a score of 27 to 30, so the implication here is that this photo/occurrence was a very bad omen for the Browns (ignoring the fact that Browns are a complete dumpster fire of an organization). At the end of the day though it’s really just a lot of this: