Like in airports, most players cringe when they see the number 13. No athlete wants to wear that number. Superstitions affect players and fans alike and they all have their ways of avoiding bad luck. Freshman Valori Schaffer, of the women's Blue Devil track team, has the ritual of always taking a towel from the hotel the team stays at. Schaffer and some of her cross-country teammates like to decorate themselves before an event for good luck.
Baseball is probably the most superstitous sport there is.
Some of these baseball superstitions have almost turned into rules. It is also viewed as bad luck to lend your bat to a fellow player, or borrowing someone else's glove is considered a serious jinx. If a team is losing, it is customary for them to turn their hats inside out in the late innings. Pat Von Feldt, a senior guard of the men's basketball team, has a few superstitions of his own. He always eats the same thing before a game, an Erberts and Gerberts' ham and cheese sub.