Black Cats, Walking under Ladders, Friday the 13th and other Superstitions

 We all know the No-Nos.  It's bad luck when a black cat walks in front of you.  It is also bad luck to walk under a ladder and, of course, Friday the 13th is a day to be avoided.  All of these things and, for some people, many more situations bring bad luck.

Sometimes, it's bad luck for a basketball team to wear a different uniform or different socks.  Just about one year ago, the Eureka Wildcats boy's team went over to Missouri Baptist to play Fort Zumwalt South in a GAC/Suburban Challenge.  The Wildcats dressed out in a vintage gold uniform rather than their normal purple and white uniforms.  It was a disaster.  

The Wildcats had one of the best defenses in the state last year, giving up about 38 points per game. 

They held Zumwalt South to 24 that night, one year ago today.  

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, there was a lid on the basket and they only scored 15 points.  

Yep, that is right.  15 points for the whole game.  Not 15 in a quarter or a half.  15 for the game.  The team made six shots out of 50.  A whopping 12%.  Luckily, the coaches and the team figured out how to fix their shooting woes and get their offense going, crank up the defense even more, and the team went on to win their district.

Fast forward to last night's GAC/Suburban Challenge game vs. the undefeated Liberty Wentzville Eagles on their home court.  It's is December 13th.  Friday the 13th, come Wednesday.  Guess what the coaches do?  They drag out those gold uniforms again.  Yikes!  Not a great idea.  The last time the team wore those was the 24-15 game! 

 And after Monday night's loss to Hazelwood Central when the offense disappeared in the second quarter and the Hawks outscored the Wildcats 44-26 those last three quarters, the Wildcats needed a boost, not a "bad" uniform.

Early this fall, my first basketball blog was about defense-winning games.  Well, the Wildcat defense won this game.  The final was 51-20 over a very good Liberty team.  Gramps had these two teams rated within five points of each other.  Not on this night.... the 13th, wearing those superstitiously bad, gold uniforms against a very good GAC team.  

No superstition here.  Just great man-to-man defense.

Liberty had 12 shots for the game.  Twelve.  And they made three for the entire game.  The Eagles did make 13 of 16 free throws, mostly late in the game against the Eureka Reserves.

Defense wins games and evidently, defense trumps superstitions too.  

Forget those gold uniforms.  Forget it is the 13th.  Forget the ladder. Forget the black cat.  

It was an amazing, suffocating defense and this very good Liberty team could not get a shot off for 90 seconds of many possessions.  It happened numerous times.  I am sure the Eagles will bounce back, just like Eureka did from their loss to Hazelwood Central.  

If there is a lesson here, it's just forget the last game, stick your nose back in it, and play hard.

Oh, you must be wondering about how the black cat fits into this story?  

Well, Gramps had the black cat yesterday afternoon.  I trapped two feral kittens a couple of weeks ago and our youngest daughter has been keeping them in her garage because one tested slightly positive for feline leukemia.  We have been slowly socializing them and they are warming up to us.  After going to the vet yesterday (and testing negative for FL), my son-in-law stopped by with the two kittens and we sat on the couch and petted them.  He had the long-haired gray and I had the little black kitten.  They got to purring and I wasn't sure I wanted my S-in-L to take them home again.  That little black wild cat might have been a lucky charm.

After a little cajoling, and convincing that I would do all the work, Grama relented and we are going to keep the little black kitten.  He is a Wild Cat, right?  

After last night's game, we are quite superstitious now.  

That little black wild cat brought the Wildcats some luck.  

The 13th brought them some luck.  

The gold uniforms brought them some luck.

But most importantly, a suffocating defense got them the win.

I suspect the coaches aren't superstitious, but I am.  

I am keeping the little black, wild cat.  

At least for a while unless Grama tosses us both out.

The Wildcats