Superstition runs deep in the sporting world. For some fans, avoiding jinxing a fixture is more than just a silly habit. With expert help, Sidelines dives into the psychology of die-hard superstitious sports fans.

“My entire day is ruined if Leeds United lose. And I believe, deep down, there are things I can do to prevent them from losing,” says Leeds United superfan, Lucy Bryan.

Jinxing: a popular term casually thrown around when you are desperate for some good luck, or more specifically when watching a nail-biting penalty shootout. 21-year-old Lucy has her own very specific set of football superstitions, having grown up with a Leeds United season ticket that is practically ingrained in her family tree. 

“I believe that if I don’t stand up when we’re about to score, I’m not being too eager so, in my head, we are then far more likely to score. If I start singing a song in my head, I have to finish it otherwise it is my fault we will lose. As for penalties, I can’t watch them! I have sat in the same seat around the same people for 10 years, and we all have always done the same, and not watched.

“I sit next to who we like to call ‘Rochdale Man’, and he takes his headphones out of his mobile radio during penalties. He’ll sometimes comment on his fear that the radio will tell him that we have missed the penalty, as if he wouldn’t see it first while actually being in the stadium.”

Lucy explained how none of her superstitions make sense to anyone outside of football, or even to anyone but herself, but they are behaviours that have been entrenched into how she has watched football over the past decade. 

“There are certain biases we may have. There’s anchoring bias, which is where you compare something to the first piece of information you received,” explains award-winning sports psychologist, Dr Josephine Perry. “So, if you wore a specific shirt the first time you saw Leeds United win, you may now connect that as ‘this is my lucky shirt, Leeds United will win today if I wear this shirt.’

“We also talk about the spotlight effect. We believe we’re much more important than we are. Each individual believes we have more impact in the world than we probably do, so we think something we do has an impact on how the game goes.”

Anchoring bias and the spotlight effect may be an explanation behind extreme superstitions as a spectator of sport, yet there is no actual impact on performance. However, there could be an upside for athletes. Dr Perry describes how wearing your lucky socks, or your lucky pants, or shirt, can make the athlete feel comfortable, improving confidence – in turn, positively impacting performance.

“Confirmation bias favours our existing beliefs. If we already believe something, say you wear some lucky red socks to an Arsenal game that they win, and they happen to win again, it gives that confirmation bias of, ‘look, here’s the evidence.’

“The same goes for athletes. Laura Kenny, the cyclist, stepped in a puddle before a race, I think it was the junior track champs, and she won the race. So, now she stands on a damp towel before she puts her shoes on and she pretty much wins every race. It feeds into that feeling of iI did this before and it worked so I should keep doing it.’

“Lucky tokens can work for athletes. You have to be careful though, because if you lose that token, things can start to go wrong as your confidence is suddenly knocked. The confidence of fans doesn’t impact an athlete, though, so the logic of fan lucky tokens doesn’t work.”

Dr Perry recalls a story of a sprinter who had won all her races in a row for months, and carried a lucky elephant charm while doing so. The athlete then lost the lucky charm, and lost her next race. “While that feeling of being alright because of the lucky elephant charm may give you some confidence, she lost the charm and then lost the confidence.

“Fan superstitions do not have an impact on athlete confidence whatsoever. However, the research suggests that home fixtures can be an advantage. The home noise and fans can influence a sports outcome,” says Dr Perry.

“While it’s not true that noise can change the physical abilities of athletes, what happens is if a team has travelled a significant distance and crossed multiple time zones to get to a fixture, they are disadvantaged because of jet lag, and it’s a 1% disadvantage for every time zone you travel.

“In terms of fan support and cheering, referees and umpires can be swayed slightly by the feeling of support for certain teams. If you’re playing at home or playing away with many away fans, the noise behind you doesn’t necessarily help the team but it may help sway results in a certain way,” explains Dr Perry.

Amongst lucky tokens, biases and home game advantages, there is plenty both athletes and fans can do before a fixture to make them feel more confident or calm. Dr Perry mentions how rituals in sport are also a key factor to athletes and coaches preparing for a fixture or competition. Rituals make people more confident, because a ritual can be controlled. The outcome of a match or performance of an opponent cannot be controlled. This applies to fan rituals too. 

“When we’re out of control, or feel out of control because we can’t control the thing that’s in front of us, we like to find things to control.”

Leeds superfan Lucy describes how her superstitions leak into her rituals when playing sport herself, as a cricket player. When approaching a match, she had a particular order of getting herself game-ready.

“I had to put on my pads first, then my thigh pad, then helmet and gloves last. Even going on to bat, I had to tap the bottom of my bat three times before I would finally feel ready to play. If I was bowling I would have to walk back thirteen paces to my position before finally bowling, and I had to rotate the seam three times. 

“Whether I ever actually believed it would change the result, or would make me play better, I’m not sure. But that didn’t matter, I would do it anyway.”

Lucy carried out this process for every cricket match she played since she was six years old, controlling anything she could before stepping foot onto the field, or stepping up to bat.

“We talk about it in sport all the time: control the controllable,” says Dr Perry.

“Very superstitious fans will know that they have no impact on the team. They have no idea what training has been done, how much money has been spent on the team, who’s injured, or what the managers have told them to do. It is totally out of their control, but having some rituals around it helps the fans feel in control and that makes us all feel more comfortable, amongst the anxiety that comes with supporting a team on such a diehard level.

“The process of being able to roll your eyes at your own team even though you love it, or going to the football with your son because your dad used to take you. A lot of the elements of being a sports fan is the ritual that comes with it. The history of supporting that team is a big deal,” says Dr Perry, “and for the fans, a lot of those history elements become part of supporting your team.

“The history becomes part of the ritual, and a big part of the process of becoming and staying a sports fan is the ritual.”

Lucy explains that Leeds United have been a huge part of her life since she was young, their matches being a whole family affair. Lucy’s grandma has gone to the Leeds United ground, Elland Road, since she was 15, and attended most away games because once upon a time her dad drove the team coaches. Superstition runs in the family just as much as supporting the team.

“If I was going to say I picked up my superstitious behaviour from anyone, it would be my grandma. She’s now too old to actually go to the football, so she watches it at home and goes out for walks in the garden if the score is too close. She thinks if she doesn’t look, the score won’t change,” says Lucy.

“My grandad holds onto the firm belief that two Leeds teams cannot win in the same weekend. He is a huge fan of both rugby and football, and would sack off the Leeds United game if Leeds Rhinos had won the previous evening. He says good things never come in twos for Leeds fans.”

Dr Perry touched on how superstitious behaviour and biases are not gender specific, and are in fact universal, explaining how the only difference would be someone’s personality type or their upbringing, rather than biological factors like gender or age.

So whether it’s wearing your lucky shirt to watch the Six Nations, or not looking when the Champions League final comes down to penalties, fan superstitions are primarily for our own comfort, rather than actually changing any actual outcome. Yet, it can be assumed that this knowledge will not change how any passionate sports fan watches their favourite team minutes away from winning a title!