Bass: What did you do to make the Bengals win again?
Famed psychologist B.F. Skinner taught pigeons how to play a version of ping-ping. With their beaks. He would feed them to purposely reinforce their behavior.
But if he fed a hungry pigeon at regular intervals, no matter its behavior, he inadvertently reinforced whatever the bird was doing. The pigeon likely repeated that behavior between feedings.
That is how Skinner explained superstition.
Does that explain what we do as sports fans?
Are we as superstitious as the pigeons?
No way. Right?
The Bengals are winning, and we are being rewarded for what we are doing. Right?
Are we being rational or irrational?
Yes.
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Sports fan maven Dan Wann and other researchers found we are especially prone to superstitions if we highly identify with our team. We believe our rituals help. We feel guilty if we stop and blame ourselves for a loss. Superstitions give a sense of power to the powerless.
A 2021 study entitled “Jinx, Control, and the Necessity of Adjustment: Superstitions Among Football Fans” interviewed Israeli soccer fans about their local teams. Any guess about the findings?
“In conclusion, superstitious behavior serves fans in two ways,” the study said. “One is that such behavior makes them feel their actions influence the match outcomes and therefore can help their favorite team, beyond just cheering in the stands. The second is that superstitions reduce the level of uncertainty and therefore the stress level characteristic of being a sport fan.”
And who wouldn’t mind a little stress relief?
Two-thirds of us are superstitious about game day, according to a 2021 Tipico Sportsbook survey of 2,400 Americans who regularly watch or attend sporting events.
Why should Bengals fans be any different?
For our regular day-after-game Twitter session with Monday, I asked for your superstition or good-luck ritual during this 5-0 and 7-1 run. Some of your answers align with some of the survey results.
Survey: 62 percent have blamed themselves for a loss.
You: What if you are atoning now?
@JNJournalist: “I always go for a run before the game! But I’m ashamed of my other… I can’t wear a single item of @Bengals gear or even colors, nor the other team’s colors [obviously.] Every time I have, we lose. So, I opt for pink or purple. But I always wear 🧡🖤🤍 (orange-black-white) on Victory MonDey! I thought I would be safe on Halloween wearing black and orange but that was NOT good. 😆”
@DavidMGinn: “Not wearing any Bengals gear. Last time I wore anything Bengals was on Halloween and we know how that ended up. Unfortunately that’s the case more often than not when I dress to support the team 😢.”
Survey: 44 percent won’t wash their jersey during the season.
You: To clean or not to clean? That is the question.
@Dammit__alex: “SB jersey. Pulled it out against the Steelers and haven’t washed it since.”
@georgemoody228: “I have worn the same shirt and same sweatshirt to watch each game from home. After the win I don't wash them. I just fold them carefully and put away to next Sunday. 6-0 coming up.”
@JusBurnerr: “After every game, take your jersey to the cleaners, wash your bengals clothes, keep everything clean for next game day. Every time I forgot to wash my jersey and wore it dirty we lost. I forgot to wash it before the superbowl. I am sorry.”
Survey: 50 percent wear a specific jersey for every game.
You: Our mojo focus is on the Bengals’ current run.
@TheMightyP_13: “I got a new gray Burrow jersey in the mail before the Panthers game and have worn it ever game since.”
@Slickdog12: “Daughter bought me a jersey after Cleveland Halloween game. 5-0 baby.”
@No_Mattic: “Started wearing my @MikeHilton_28 jersey & took my son to the Panthers game. He got an orange @Real10jayy__ jersey & we both have worn this combo each week during the streak. Ive also worn the same shoes during that time & set the volume to 24 on my tv & 9 or 21 in my truck.🧐🤞🏼 ... 24 in my media room is for Vonn, 9 for Burrow [talk radio volume] 21 for Hilton [music volume] the superstition is real 😭😂.”
Survey: 16 percent wear an item of clothing other than a jersey for every game.
You: It’s our clothing, but not just our clothing.
@AmandaStroka: “Orange tiger logo crop hoodie & black ripped leggings for every one of the 5-0 games.”
@Haguey75 (with a photo of a jumbo necklace): “The Chain. Bought before the Panthers game when I was over from the UK. Now have to wear it every game. In my mind, it is the sole reason for the Bengals being undefeated in the last 5 games.”
@Mauralang (with a photo of a suitably attired dog): “5-0 when wearing his Bengals costume! Arrived too late for Halloween. IT MUST MEAN SOMETHING!”
Survey: 42 percent sit in the same spot.
You: Where you sit is just part of the routine. Assuming you can sit. Or watch.
@Bnprather: “90’s Tiger logo black t-shirt and white Burrow Jersey over that, sit on right side of couch, left leg over right for offense and right leg over left for defense. Remote then phone at about 30 degree angle next to each other on couch arm. Geez…I’m a little messed up here. (The) White Jersey birthday gift from son on 10/30. Third qtr Browns game switched from Black Jersey and haven’t looked back!!”
@Crabtree_cody: “I stand up, scream at my tv on the more important/key plays. Notably on 3rd down I scream to Hendrickson to ‘be a man!!!’ It works about 50% of the time. 💀”
@mweist1218: “Stopped watching the game live. I’m bad luck. Everyone is welcome. It’s torture.”
But is it real?
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My wife, with a doctorate in nursing practice and the mind of a scientist, often sees superstitions as magical thinking.
Then again, wasn’t the Bengals’ run last season magical?
And what if this one emanates from the Magic Kingdom?
“Undefeated as a fiancé,” @Jay_Barca tweeted, with a photo of him (a Bengals-striped Mickey Mouse silhouette on his T-shirt) ... down on one knee ... presenting the ring box to his beloved ... at Disney World ... at a memorable time. “Hours before beating the Steelers on 11/20.”
Is Undefeated as a Fiancé a coincidence? Is it a storybook twist that will end in a ring for the Bengals, too?
Is there a reason we can’t mix a little fun with our angst?
Take @logan_sniper. He tweeted a group photo with sermonizer Nic Crabtree, holding his exalted “Book of Zachary” (Taylor), with his tailgating congregants.
“We have the ‘Bengals Crabbi’ bless a different position group each Sunday based on the other teams strengths!” @logan_sniper tweeted, explaining that “Crabbi” is a Crabtree-rabbi hybrid. “We started week 15 last year and carried through the superbowl!
“When we lost the SB we didn't bring him back until after we got demolished against Cleveland in the first meeting! We are on a roll since then! This week O Line, last week DL against KC they held up!”
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Of course this is magical thinking.
@Snakyhero: “When you have a Joe Burrow, superstition is not needed. Not even a little stition.”
@Mill713: “Don't believe in any of that crap! The Bengals are WINNING!!!! IT'S OUR TIME!!”
But is it our time? Or does it just seem that way?
What is rational?
And since when is fandom rational?
We expect to win every game and every title. We expect to sign every star. We don’t care if there are 32 teams in the NFL. All we see are the Bengals, the Bengals are good – no, GREAT – and if they don’t win, they must be doing something wrong. Or we are.
This is the real fantasy of football.
We have faith.
We put it out there, into the universe.
“Sometimes I feel like the coaches and players can feel my thoughts via telepathy like a real Jedi,” @YodaSheisty tweeted. “I tweet pictures at the players, a few nights before the game, of their past success and what I hope to see from them like how you show your barber how you want your haircut.”
You never know.
There are all kinds of stories. When the phone rings, we might know who is calling before checking caller ID. We might dream about something, and it happens. We might sense something about a friend, and it happened. Is it mystical? Electrical? Spiritual? Coincidental?
Some of us simply support our Bengals by what we wear or display. And some of us are like @Bengllvr, who tweeted a photo of a Bengals wreath and wrote, “Was going to change out for a Christmas wreath then realized we haven’t lost since I put it up.”
The players can use their superstitions or rituals to help them relax or focus. So can we. If something eases our stress, if it helps us feel a little control over what we logically can’t, if it adds to the experience, if our superstitions serve us instead of control us, if we honor them for what they are, if nobody gets hurt, why not?
Tipico’s survey said 38 percent believe someone in their family is “bad luck” – and of those, 84 percent have asked the person to leave the room when the game is on. Is it funny? Maybe. What if you were the one asked to leave?
No, we are not pigeons.
We can make choices.
We chose to be Bengal fans.
Some never lost faith despite decades of misery.
Was that rational or irrational?
Yes.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals fans superstitions for winning NFL games | Column
