Senior Chad Birkes comes into the locker room after the first half of the Webb City only to find his golden mohawked statue on the floor in two pieces. He swiftly picks up the pieces and pastes it back together. He and junior Rickey Dobbins begin to rub the statue all around its hard ceramic exterior. They finish off their ritual by giving the statue a kiss for good luck.

Different athletes have different superstitions before a competition whether for good luck, or just to keep bad luck away. Whether it be alone, with a team, involving a relic, or just a linking chain of abnormal body movements, they take them very seriously, some more than others, but no doubt all rituals are treated with the utmost importance.

Senior band member, Caleb Uhl explains the bands superstitions while on their way to a football game, a tradition the band has had since Har-Ber formed.

“We don’t talk when we are in city limits, but if we are on I-540 or something like that we talk,” said Uhl.

The punishment for breaking this tradition isn’t one of intense severity. A sour bus captain shushes the bandie, who goes against the grain. They are informed by their bus captain when it is acceptable to talk. However, it is not usual that they are allowed to talk.

Football players have their share of ritualistic superstitions also. Birkes and Dobbins possess a statue resembling a golden mohawked Mr. T. that they rub and kiss before every football game. Birkes believe that every game that the statue hasn’t been present, they have lost.

“The games that I haven’t brought it, we have lost, Columbia Rock Bridge, Bentonville, Rogers,” said Birkes.

“When I brought it to our game against Webb City and performed our ritual, we beat their 92 game win streak,” said Birkes.