Oilpressure

In the interest of full-disclosure, this post is admittedly a "puff-piece". What do you expect for mid-January? If you are looking for a hard-hitting IndyCar article, please check back next week. If you don’t mind the occasional puff-piece, feel free to continue reading.

My early morning local sports-talk radio station (104.5 – The Zone) had an interesting discussion this past week that reminded me of how I follow IndyCar races. With the Titans going to this weekend’s AFC Championship game in Kansas City, they asked callers to call in and tell their traditions and superstitions that they follow when either attending a Titans game or watching on television.

At first, I had to chuckle, because I do the same things that the first few callers said that they do for the Tennessee Vols and Titans games and IndyCar races.

Superstitions are an odd thing. They are a ridiculous ritual that normally rational people go through, thinking if they don’t continue a routine – something bad will happen.

For Christmas, Susan gave me a new Titans polo. It’s 100% cotton (of course), light blue and has a simple Titans logo on the chest. I wore it during the next game, which was the season finale at Houston. The Titans won and made it into the playoffs. Not messing with a good thing, I wore it again the next week when the Titans played at New England. When it produced the same result, I made sure it was in the wash before last week’s playoff game at Baltimore. You probably don’t have to wonder what I’ll be wearing on Sunday. You don’t mess with 3-0.

Of course, this was also combined with my game-day boxer-shorts underwear. Keep in mind these old boxers have been through a lot of losses, as well. But for the past seven or eight years, I’ve worn the same pair of boxers (washed, of course) for every Titans game that I watch on TV or see in person. I’ve already made the decision to retire them after this season. The elastic has seen better days and the fabric is looking a little worn. But if the Titans make it to the Super Bowl and win it, I might have to re-think that.

I also have a pair of boxers reserved for the Tennessee Vols. I last wore them for the Gator Bowl a couple of weeks ago. They, too, are slated for retirement before next season.

I hate to admit it, but my superstitions bleed over into the IndyCar season. It’s just not to the extreme of my football rituals…or is it?

If I’m at home watching a race, I will always put on an IndyCar-related polo and wear the same set of boxers. They have old antique cars all over them. I figured if they have cars, they would make a good set of race boxers. I only wear them sixteen times a year. But there are seventeen races in a season, you might notice. Yeah, I only wear them once on the double-header weekend at Belle Isle. I’m not going to wash them on Saturday night to wear them again on Sunday. That would be crazy (no comments, please).

If I’m at a race, I’m not too particular what I wear each day at the track. But I used to always wear a white Oilpressure polo on Race Day. That’s changed in recent years as I’ve added more colors to my Oilpressure collection, but mostly you’ll see me in a white polo on Sundays at the track.

The strange thing is, I’m not even sure why I wear "good-luck" boxers for a race. For a football game, there is only one winner and one loser. It’s all or nothing and it’s pretty clear who I’m pulling for. At a race, it’s different. I have those that I pull for and those that I’m not as crazy about, but I don’t really pull against anybody. Maybe I’m just hoping for a safe race and I think my wearing a certain set of boxers will somehow guarantee that.

Not only is this absurd, but I even have personal evidence to disprove my own superstition. It’s no secret that I have always been a big Tony Kanaan fan. Not only am I a fan, but I also correctly picked him to win the 2013 Indianapolis 500. I believe it’s the only time I’ve correctly picked the "500" winner. The problem was that in 2013, I forgot to pack the "lucky" Race Day boxers. That particular morning, I had to (gasp) wear ordinary everyday boxers, yet Kanaan won the race. Did that do anything to make me give up this silly ritual? No. I made sure I packed them and wore them in 2014.

But if you think I’m crazy, you should have heard some of the rituals, superstitions and traditions that some Titans fans go through. Many of them do what I do and wear superstitious articles of clothing, but many listeners took it to another level.

One guy said he never sits during a game, even while watching at home. One guy will start watching on his DVR about ten minutes delayed, but will follow the game on Twitter so that he knows what is about to happen ahead of time. Another said he will only drink a certain type of beer during a game. Maybe the worst was the listener who said he separates his m&m’s by color and puts them in separate bowls before the game and eats certain colors by quarters. Now that’s weird!

So am I the only strange person that insists on wearing certain items to watch a football game on television? What about for IndyCar viewing. Do any of you adhere to certain rituals or traditions just to watch an IndyCar race in the comfort of your home? Do you do anything special at the track? If so, let us know below. I’d like confirmation that I’m not the only nut-job out there.

Go Titans! #TitanUp

George Phillips

This entry was posted on January 17, 2020 at 4:04 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.