I was emailing a friend after a Cal loss. She said, "Well at least there wasn't anything you could have done."

She was wrong! I certainly believe that if we don't win, there is something I should have done differently. What that is, I'm not sure.

I should have worn a different shirt, hat, jewelry, ate something else. I should have recorded the game or not recorded it. I should have cheered louder. We should have taken a different route to the game.

I always pat the bear statues by O'Brien Hall before the game.

One thing I will NEVER do is leave the game early or turn off the game on TV.

I think everything in the universe has to line up correctly for us to win. LOL. It sure did in the 1982 Big Game

So, the question is, do you feel you have something to do with the outcome of the games?

Calfans;842320300 said:

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So, the question is, do you feel you have something to do with the outcome of the games?

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Not the outcome, but a fan never leaves till the game is over, win or lose, rain or shine, and now (thanks Pac12) day or night.

The players don't leave - why would I?

I have a lucky hat which I will trot out for big games or where the outcome is in doubt (let's be honest, sometimes it isn't). I don't wear it for every game because it is as uncomfortable as hell (over the span of 40 years it has fallen into several oceans, flown off ski lifts only to be retrieved days later, taken a large portion of a whitewater rafting trip without me and been hopped on, stomped on and snuffled by several large mamals. Accordingly a lot of the plastic "threads" on the inside have snapped and now poke into my head continuously like I'm a giant pin cushion). I also don't wear it because I superstitiously believe it only has a finite number of "charges" and I don't want to use up all the luck until I really, really need it. Unfortunately I trotted it out last year a few times and it let me down. Clearly my fault for overuse.

Yes, we have Time-Warner Cable and I get all the Pac12 games. I've recorded ours of the past two seasons (even though I attend almost every home game). We've lost every one. I think I'm to blame for our woeful records for the last two years.

I knew I wasn't the only one who felt that way! Or who admitted to it

Years ago, the Yankees acquired Wade Boggs. I swear this is true. He would never hit when I was watching. I would cover my eyes, and then he'd hit. This happened at least 4 times. It was incredible.

Sebastabear;842320443 said:

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I also don't wear it because I superstitiously believe it only has a finite number of "charges" and I don't want to use up all the luck until I really, really need it. Unfortunately I trotted it out last year a few times and it let me down. Clearly my fault for overuse.

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You know that you're fully bought in when you're sensitive to the fact that you can't "go to the well too often" or you'll deplete your lucky charm's finite number of usable charges! Hilarious.

I can relate to that. I also let my Irish Catholic religious upbringing traverse into the world of sports, and as a kid, I would find myself attempting to "make deals" with God. I started with this around 10 years old, and quite frankly, in times of desperation, I have been known to still resort to it. "If you'll just let Kevin Riley lead Cal to this comeback over Oregon State, I will do X, Y, and Z." It rarely works, but when it does (I'm looking at you, Mike Mohammed, 2009), I know that my barter system with the ruler of the universe is what sprung Cal to victory.

BearBoarBlarney;842320512 said:

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You know that you're fully bought in when you're sensitive to the fact that you can't "go to the well too often" or you'll deplete your lucky charm's finite number of usable charges! Hilarious.

I can relate to that. I also let my Irish Catholic religious upbringing traverse into the world of sports, and as a kid, I would find myself attempting to "make deals" with God. I started with this around 10 years old, and quite frankly, in times of desperation, I have been known to still resort to it. "If you'll just let Kevin Riley lead Cal to this comeback over Oregon State, I will do X, Y, and Z." It rarely works, but when it does (I'm looking at you, Mike Mohammed, 2009), I know that my barter system with the ruler of the universe is what sprung Cal to victory.

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Indeed. I definitely was wearing the lucky hat at that '09 Big Game (and the Arizona game that preceded it) after having "rested it" for most of the season. I actually scrambled to find it during the Oregon game if I remember correctly but it was too late; by the time the plastic pins started jamming my head the damage was done. Curse you lucky hat!!!!!!

Aint nothing you can do