Fresno State Athletics
Just Being Frank: Very Superstitious
12/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2010
"Very superstitious, writings on the wall . . . When you believe in things you don't understand, ... superstition."
Yes, Dear BlogDogs (new title for the faithful readers), that's our team in a nutshell. We are nothing if not a superstitious bunch!
As you are well aware, the season is here, and we opened on the road at Santa Clara. Departure was set for Thursday, Nov. 11, at 1:30 p.m. from in front of the North Gym. Player by player, coach by coach, staff member by staff member we arrived with eager anticipation of our first road trip of the season! As I boarded the bus, I was taken aback by a sight that just didn't seem to fit right in my eyes. On the left side of the bus in the second seat was none other than our newest addition, Miss Jenny Starks. While Jenny has been an absolutely wonderful addition to our program, she began 2010 with a faux pas of sorts. Obviously, she had failed to realize seating on our trips was not put together of random chaos, but rather a defined sitting station not unlike that of a kindergarten classroom. We quickly righted the situation, and away we went.
*sidenote: Even though the front seat was open while Coach Parrish was on the road recruiting, the seat remained empty in her honor.
Fortunately, there were no windows falling off the bus (actually happened on our last trip to the San Jose area, so not a random insertion at all) or any other major issues which prevented us from a safe and sound arrival.
We had a scheduled practice time the night before the game and things went pretty well. We try to get some extra shooting in and get a good feel of the arena, gymnasium, stadium (Idaho shout out here!), etc. where we will be playing our next game. We thought about doing a drill we call "Bulldog Shooting," but that idea was quickly squashed as we are very concerned with a shooting percentage stat that correlates with our doing that drill the day before a game or on game day itself.
Following practice, we had a great meal (shout out to Wahoo's) and got to our rooms at a decent hour for rest and relaxation.
Game day began as it usually does with a morning wake-up call and breakfast at the hotel. Another superstition is to always eat breakfast (unless it is our official pre-game meal) at the hotel. While that sounds simple and obvious, it's not when you consider that many hotels don't serve breakfast or have a restaurant on site. The Bulldogs don't care . . . we eat where we sleep! Many times throughout the season this involves a trip to the grocery store in whatever city we are staying in.
After our morning meal, there is usually a bit of downtime for the players to relax and work on their studies. We convene a couple of hours later to go on our pre-game walk. The walk can range from 10-45 minutes depending on weather and locale. I think almost all the girls will agree, Hawaii is always the favorite walk each year. The lone exception might be a very entertaining venture in downtown San Jose a few years back where we got to spend some time at a science exhibit. Sadly - and no offense to our counterparts in Moscow, Idaho - the weather has confined us to walks throughout the hotel in your lovely city on all but last year's trip, so it probably ranks as one of the least favorites.
Our official game prep (shoot around) is usually an early afternoon affair. It includes our game plan for the opponent of the evening and well as how we are going to implement our strategies for that particular contest. We finish with a made basket and guess what? Another superstition! No one is allowed to shoot after the final made basket. All balls must immediately go to the ball rack! A final look around to make sure nothing is left behind and then off we go to our pre-game meal, my second favorite part of game day!
*sidenote: the game is my favorite part in case there was any doubt or question.
Let's just say if Chili's was ever in need of a sports team to be its official spokesteam (pretty sure that's not a word, but just go with it!) it would be the Fresno State women's basketball team. I've got to give thanks for the Bottomless Lunch! You see, once we commit to a menu item, we don't change until we lose a game. I'm willing to admit total arrogance on the next statement and with that preface . . . since switching to Chili's we haven't had to switch much! We were fortunate to have a 19-game winning streak last season, our first with Chili's, and change just didn't happen. Hence, my thanks to the Bottomless Lunch! I was one of the few who could order the same thing and still have choices due to the wide array of soups and salad dressings.
*sidenote: Was great running into former Fresno State football great and current San Francisco 49er David Carr outside of Chili's that afternoon!
After our meal, we were off to the game which I'm sure you can imagine, brings multiple superstitions! It all begins with a round of applause. Yes, each player and member of our support staff gets a progressively building clap as they make their way from their seat to the exit of the bus. A high five is also waiting for them before they actually step off. All that and we're not even in the gym yet.
For me personally, there is an entire process of when I'm allowed to actually tie my tie. I never walk into a gym with the tie intact and ready to go. I also have to use multiple colors while writing the pre-game scout. There is a certain timing pattern used for our pre-game warm-up that cannot be altered, nor can the chants.
Finally, there is pre-game handshake and exact statement to each individual staff member that varies from person to person but never changes during a winning streak. Coach Wiggins will attest to the fact that these statements have ranged from movie quotes to commercial lines and from animal sounds to physical gestures. If that's what I do, you can imagine what the team does individually and as a group! So you kind of get an idea of what to expect at the START of the season. Oh yes, wait for it . . . there's more!
A whole new series of superstitions rear their heads once WAC play begins. These range from which hotels we stay at, what restaurants we eat in, and can even be seen in the form of facial hair.
*sidenote: I won't say who has the facial hair superstition, but I will say of the four coaches on our staff, two are female and one of the males can't grow facial hair. You can figure the rest out on your own.
As for our most interesting (if not entertaining) superstition, we place one famous person on our complimentary pass list for each game. The person must be a native of the city or state in which we are playing and we actually do invite them.
*sidenote: We are undefeated with Wayne Newton on the list in the state of Nevada. We still have faith you'll show up one day, buddy! (Pretty sure he reads my blogs and is a closet BlogDog!)
So what's the most interesting superstition of our players? I'll let you decide from a few of them.
Jeanna Furst: Applies Chapstick before hitting the court every time she plays
Emma Andrews: Eats one purple Skittle (pretty sure she gets one from Jaleesa)
Taja Edwards: Sings
Blakely Goldberg: Eats a spoon full of peanut butter
Bree Farley: Always wears her lucky underwear
Alex Furr: Dances her nerves away
So what are your superstitions? Let us know what crazy things you do in the spirit of superstition, tradition, or whatever you feel comfortable calling your idiosyncrasies. Look forward to hearing from you soon and in the meantime, have a great week BlogDogs!
"We Are Your Team!" -- Fresno State will take on its second ranked opponent of the season on Sunday when the team travels to No. 2 Stanford. For more information, visit Gobulldogs.com.
