Technolandy

Day 26 (of 2025/26): I know superstitions aren’t real… but what if they are?

(And a shoutout to what could be the Mariners’ most magical postseason yet.)

As much as I am known for my love of football, the true team and sport I fell in love with was baseball… I loved little league – but our town was too little to do anything more than enjoy it recreationally… and the only ‘local’ pro team was the one in Seattle… fortunately that is where my mom grew up so we had family that we could visit… and occasionally add in the very special treat of going to a Mariners game. And yes, even though it was artificial, I can still recall the memory of going through the gateway to where our seats were (always… always… really high up…) and seeing the bright green that tried to pass itself off as turf. 

But it has not been often that the Mariners have made it to play baseball in October (playoffs) so this year has been extra special – the Ms remain the only team to not have played in the World Series (others have also not won it, but only Seattle has been completely out of it. And I do wonder if I have to blame myself and wonder if I wore the wrong hat on the wrong day.

Superstitions are great – I know people who have lucky interview socks, and had to write tests with on particular pen. And as I share with my kids at home and school… I KNOW that it doesn’t matter which hat/shirt/jersey/etc I wear and it doesn’t affect the game…. But I also told my son that I couldn’t leave my office because the Ms were scoring a couple of runs that inning… and even today, when I had to deal with a change in plans… the game turned into a win for Detroit… 

So people may tease (on social media) the mariner fan crying with the win at home in game 2… I get it…

Some may mock the many who have ‘lucky clothing items’… that’s fine. 

A takeaway from a book I’ve been anticipating for awhile and reading now was timely: Let’s face it—the human mind hates change,…And the mind despises abandoning existing beliefs.

So when you eat a certain food, wear a specific article of clothing, get a good result when using a particular brand of black pencils that are no longer available for purchase… you anticipate any deviation of that habit is why the result was unfortunate. 

Even as a teacher, I’ve had superstitions and routines – which is why I still don’t expect to sleep well on Sunday ; why I like wearing sports jerseys on #UnofficialSportsJerseyFriday (and on game days…) from the days I coached … and I still like to read my daily news comics in a particular order…

So yes, I am planning on repeating what I wore the last time the Mariners were up at bat at the next game to try to get one step closer to the best story in sports this fall:

The future 30 for 30 series of the Mariners First World Series

Round One – vs the Detroit Tigers of whom the Mariners played in their first ever series when first becoming a franchise!

Round Two – should be against Toronto – the other team that joined as an expansion team in 1977

World Series – could be against the Milwaukee Brewers… who started off as the Seattle Pilots before moving to Wisconsin.