Gallery talk can be quite entertaining at a retriever field event.

Not surprisingly most of the gallery, participants and observers, are fans of pro sport teams too. Presumably,  many are baseball fans. How so you ask? Well, baseball is known for its superstitions. Watch baseball fans turn their hats inside out and backward to “rally” a comeback win at a ballgame. Listen to the stories of players who don’t wash a piece of clothing during a winning streak, change a hat all season or go without shaving in October playoffs.

Superstitions

Baseball’s biggest superstition is the famous curse of the Chicago Cubs, “Billy Goat”. This curse has prevented the Cubs from winning a World Series for a hundred years!  Statistics are another area of common ground for baseball and retriever fans too.

Naturally, some dog handlers have lucky objects which bring good luck.   But, you seldom hear many handlers say openly this is my lucky “whistle lanyard” or “hat”.  Nevertheless, its still easy to confirm superstition is alive and well on any given weekend. Just make the following proclamation to the gallery. In between dogs running, say with a voice loud enough to be over heard, “My dog has NEVER ___________”.

The Jinx is on

Watch the heads turn to look at you. Your friends who aren’t totally embarrassed will shush you, “Don’t ever say that, you’ll jinx yourself today.”  Strangers will shake their heads and scoff, they know your days of “never-ever” are about to come to an end.  See superstition is alive and well at both sporting events. No one bats one thousand or always picks all the birds up. Play-ball, I mean Fetch it Up!