6 of the Strangest Athlete Superstitions

Michael Jordan You may be surprised to find out that one of the greatest basketball players of all times had superstitions, but even Michael Jordan himself was known for a specific quirk. While leading the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships during his legendary career, the five-time MVP wore his University of North Carolina shorts under his uniform in every game. In order to cover his lucky pair, Jordan began wearing longer shorts, which inspired a trend in the NBA.   Kevin Rhomberg, Cleveland Indians Rhomberg played just 41 games in parts of three seasons with the Tribe from 1982-84. But in that short span, managed to assert himself as possibly the big leagues' most superstitious player ever. Rhomberg's most peculiar superstition was that if someone touched him, he had to touch that person back. Although this compulsion was not as much of a liability as it might have been in basketball or football, it still led to some odd situations: if Rhomberg was tagged out while running the bases, he'd wait until the defense was clearing the field at inning's end to chase down the player who'd touched him. Rhomberg also refused to make right turns while on the field, because baserunners are always turning left. So if a situation forced him to make a right turn, he'd go to his left and make a full circle to get moving in the correct direction. - Mental Floss