Pre-game habits, rituals, etc.

[JRutledge]

If I am the Referee, I have a way I bounce and spin the basketball (towards me) and I must slap the ball twice after each spin. I go with the left arm first, then the right arm. I really have not any rhyme or reason for this. Just something that has become a habit and I do it every time.

Peace

[Back In The Saddle]

Hmmm, my rituals are not quite as colorful, but they begin the night before. I always pack my bag the same way every time, and the clothes are put in so that I can take them out in the order I put them on. On the way to the game site I either listen to my Art McDonald pre-game CD or the sound track to A Knight's Tale, just depends on whether I feel a greater need to get focused or get pumped up. At the site I dress, always in the same order. I briefly consider what an idiot I am for not stretching. And then I turn to my partner and start our pregame by say, "All right, Chief. How are we gonna do this tonight?"

[Kingsman1288]

I really should look doing my shadowboxing on the court right before the jump. A little fear never hurt anyone right?

[Juulie Downs]

Originally Posted by Kingsman1288

I really should look doing my shadowboxing on the court right before the jump. A little fear never hurt anyone right?

Probably not a good idea if you're tossing. That circle isn't very big. It would end up being not-shadow boxing, and might even include a lawsuit!.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

I briefly consider what an idiot I am for not stretching. And then I turn to my partner and start our pregame by say, "All right, Chief. How are we gonna do this tonight?"

You stole mine....

Not fair!

BTW, my post-game ritual includes my wife telling me what an idiot I am for not stretching. I like symmetry.

[Huntin' Ref]

I don't know why, but I have to count the stars and stripes of the flag during the anthem. First the stars, then the red stipes, then the white stripes (and yes it always equals 13). It drives me nutz if I'm at an angle I can't see all the stars for counting..........

[kgeorge0263]

I don't have a set routine, but I do like to take the time to brush my teeth...even though half the guys here like to have a great, garlic, horrendous breath, I prefer to have a clean mouth to blow into my fox40.

I like the post about telling a joke prior to going out to loosen things up. My one partner during the captains meeting got the two sides hands together and said "Go Eagles!".....Lucky for him...I'm a huge Steelers Fan and they're in the NFC.

-KG Go Gators & Go Steelers!

[mutantducky]

I go out and dance to the pre-game music. Sometimes the coaches like to dance and sometimes they don't. and boy does it get awkward.

[shavano]

One word.

Burritos.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

BTW, my post-game ritual includes my wife telling me what an idiot I am .......

Snaqs, for me you can leave the rest of the sentence off!

[CMHCoachNRef]

Right before I take the court, I toss a handful of powder into the air.

[JugglingReferee]

The night before I referee, I hang out with my girlfriend.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

The night before I referee, I hang out with my girlfriend.

What a coincidence....

The night before I referee, I hang out with your girlfriend too.

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Snaqs, for me you can leave the rest of the sentence off!

When I get home my wife always asks if anyone yelled at me. DUH! I reply with a classic line about a bear and the woods. I tell her it doesn't bother me any, it comes with the territory.

She won't watch any game I do because she can't stand to see me get yelled at. How ironic, dear!

I pack my bag exactly the same every time. Undergarments on the bottom of the pile, outergarments in the middle, and shoes in a bag on the top. Dunno why, but I just do.

When the national anthem is played, I make a mental picture of it being done in sign language, unless I'm at the school for the deaf, then I watch the cheerleaders do it and do the English translation in my head.