Bobby Barkley:
(This is all for 2013, mostly, and I think I covered most of this in my intro post)
-Every Friday before a home game, I'd take the elevator from my Haley Center office to the bookstore around 9:30 am to pick up my game day pin. I wouldn't wear it, but I'd have it in my pocket for every home game. It always worked.
-Brought the lucky all-blue shaker to every game I attended (including watching the aTm and Mizzou games at 1716). I seem to remember the Iron Bowl or the UGA (possibly both) being All Auburn, All Orange games, yet I rebelled and still brought the blue shaker. In both of those games, there were almost moments where I thought I'd made a mistake. Almost. But there I was...shaking the hell out of that blue shaker like there was no tomorrow. It always worked.
-For away games, I would drive downtown and park somewhere on College or on Magnolia (if I could get a spot early enough). I would post up at 1716, order a couple of Coors Light tall boys, and watch the game. The key, though, was that I would have two rolls of toilet paper sitting on the dash of my car, visible through the windshield. When the games were over (and this especially proved useful for the aTm game), I'd pay my tab, briskly walk over to the car, get out the rolls, and head to Toomer's. Always a good decision. I can't remember if I did this for the National Championship game...nope. I walked from my apartment, so no car.
-One of my best friends and I swore up and down that we were good luck charms for Auburn in tight spots. Here are the games we attended together that really proved this:
1. 2010 Iron Bowl: we sat in the dead-gum GREEK block seating of the ALABAMA student section. We all know how that ended, though.
2. Prayer at Jordan-Hare. We sat behind the uprights where Ricardo caught that ball. Electric.
3. Kick Six. We sat below the sky boxes and barely got seats before the game. It was a tight fit up there. Boom. Victory.
He got a student ticket from the National Championship lottery, and I didn't. I told him (sort of jokingly, but kind of serious) that he shouldn't go to Pasadena unless I could get a ticket. I didn't get a ticket, and he still went. We lost. I blame myself.
When I entered the student ticket lottery, I actually used the shaft of the lucky blue shaker to click my mousepad to confirm my submission. I thought it would work. It didn't. :(
-Every time I left Jordan-Hare after a victory, I would slap the top of the entrance frame into the concourse. Don't know why. Just one more thing, I guess.
BARN HARD, Y'ALL.
Austin Lankford:
For every SEC West game, I wear the same blue auburn game day shirt with the same grey long sleeve auburn shirt under it. Every other SEC game it is an orange auburn shirt with no shirt under it. I had to make some changes after the 3-9 year and this is what I came up with.
Peggy Rossmanith:
*Do not eat the opposing team's mascot. Specifically, do not roast a pig for Arkansas. 2009 is the result.
*Cover eyes and ears for kickoffs and punt returns.
*Complete silence before offensive plays but it's okay to narrate once they start.
*Only undefeated clothing.
*If you're at home, drink your beverage out of a stadium cup from an undefeated game.
*Speaking of at-home viewing, shakers are a no-no.
*At the stadium, throw away your defeated shakers. Only undefeated shakers ever.
*Actually, only undefeated everything. It took me a long time to learn this.
*When you're watching the game with a bunch of people, positioning is crucial. If things are going well, you do not move. If not, change it up! If things go south after someone does move, back to the beginning! If someone leaves the room and Auburn does well, he (or she) must stay gone. I missed that last soul-killing drive of the 2010 Kentucky game. You're all welcome.
Matt Donaldson:
I always check the weather after waking up to finalize the wardrobe choices. I'm a big believer in following orders, so if a particular color is supposed to be worn, I make sure to oblige.
I always have a traditional orange and blue shaker in my left pocket, opposite of keys, phone, etc. Since I'm still usually in the student section when I get to attend games, I'm always at Jordan-Hare just prior to when they open the student gates. I enjoy the two hours build up to game time, even if others complain about its length.
I always say a little prayer during the Star Spangled Banner - not for Auburn to win, but just to be thankful for another opportunity to experience Auburn football with friends and family.
I always stay throughout the whole game, then stay for the Alma Mater as well! Wish more folks did that. I decided before 2010 that I would watch every minute of every game, no matter how meaningless. After that season, it was cemented as a superstition.
Oscar Whiskey:
I am not a superstitious person. I do not believe that certain rituals or chants or items of clothing have any bearing on what takes place on the field. I am a passive observer. Well, an often loud, obnoxious, foulmouthed observer in truth but nothing I do affects the game being played.
That being said, I did go 11 years of not wearing a particular blue hoodie which I wore to the 2002 Auburn-UGA game. I pulled it out and wore it the week leading up to last season's match up between the Tigers and the Bulldogs. When Georgia was making their final drive late in the game I was preparing to take that hoodie outside and set the damn thing on fire. Thankfully, I didn't have to do that.
But as I said, I am not a superstitious person.
Emily Rios:
My superstitions are many, but most of them have to do with what I'm wearing. Each season I start out with two brand new shirts that must be purchased from a local Auburn establishment. These shirts are alternated on game days until a) we lose or b) we get a huge, unexpected win. I actually had three last year, you know, just in case we sucked. One was retired after the LSU game, and the shirt that I wore for the Texas A&M game was the lucky shirt for the rest of the season. Previous years game day shirts--with the exception of 2008 and 2012--are worn throughout the rest of the year, but never again on gameday.
As the season progresses, I find little things to be superstitious about--where I sit, what my kids wear, whether or not I check Twitter during commercials, texting a friend to tell him "that's game" based on whatever terrible play has just happened because I know he'll text back "Believe in Gus" every time.
On a related note, I have a great story about my good friend who sat in the student section for the 2006 game against Florida. He went to get something to eat, and is standing in the concession line watching the game on the tv when the blocked punt occured. He didn't move from that spot for the rest of the game because he thought it would be bad luck for him to go back to his seat.
Chris Roberts:
Game Day Superstitions.... Sit in same chair or if in stadium sit in the same section usually north end zone. I have a shirt that I only wear on Saturdays as well...
Franklin Featherston:
On Game Day I always wake up early and watch College Game Day on ESPN. That is usually followed by a few Bud Lights while reading all of the preview articles until kick-off.
War Eagle!
Walt Austin:
Finally, my own. I never wear t-shirts. I'm a collared shirt guy pretty much everywhere I go. The only exceptions are working out and football games. I don't know what it is, but it seems like every time I wear some form of garment with a collar on it, my team loses. I blame myself for Pasadena. I took my windbreaker with a collar on it instead of my light UnderArmour "coat" with no collar. It was a chilly evening. I put it on. I've never realized it until this moment that it was at half-time. I thought my curse extended only to shirts. Now I look back on some Georgia Southern losses where I was wearing my fleece pull-over with collar over my t-shirt... WHAT HAVE I DONE!?!? IT'S ALL MY FAU...
Ok, whew, I'm back, now. I really did just realize that bit about the jacket and GSU pullover while writing this, though. Other than that I really don't have many superstitions. I'm sure I have some minor ones I can't really think of right now, but the "only t-shirts worn to football games" one is the main one I absolutely HAVE to follow. It's only for games I actually attend, too.
So what about all of you wonderful readers of College and Magnolia? Let us here YOUR superstitions?