Today’s date 08/08/08 apparently has so much power as a lucky number that the Chinese Olympic Committee actually picked today as the date of the opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympic Games with a starting time of 8:08:08 PM!
Are you superstitious?
Baseball players have their superstitions about their socks, their bats, their hats etc. “Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs ate fried chicken before every game. It worked: Boggs won five batting titles, two Gold Gloves, a World Series and collected 3,000 hits”. Another Baseball Superstition: “Roger Clemens always visited Monument Park to touch the head of the Babe Ruth statue before he pitched in Yankee Stadium. Roger Clemens gave each of his children names that began with the letter K. “K” stands for strikeout in baseball”.
Hockey players have their superstitions. Wayne Gretzky supposedly said: “I never get my hair cut when we’re on the road because the last time I did, we lost” and “I always put my equipment on the same way : left shin pad, left stocking, right shin pad, right stocking. Then pants, left skate, right skate, shoulder pads, elbow pads, first the left, then the right; and finally, the jersey, with the right side tucked into my pants”. Some players said they got luck from the way and number of times they wrapped their stick with tape. Learn more about Hockey Superstitions by CLICKING HERE. You can take the hocky superstition quiz by CLICKING HERE.
Cops like people in other professions are superstitious or at least don’t want to tempt fate or are always looking for a little bit of extra luck. Many police officers share the belief that “bad things always come in three’s” or being careful not to walk under ladders? Check out these cop superstitions from www.RealPolice.net. Don’t forget about those pennies on the sidewalk. “See a penny, pick it up, all the day you will have good luck”.
I personally like the 08/08/08 because I’ve always noticed signs or reminders on things like digital clocks 12:34 PM or 11:11 AM. I like the symmetry of things and whether or not it brings me good luck it is a reminder to stop and consider things larger than myself.
Whether you believe in good or bad luck and whether or not you consider yourself superstitious you might consider hedging your bets by planning for success in your life and your police career. Studies seem to indicate that it’s not just the bad guys bullets that are killing us, it’s other things like stress through cancer, alcoholism and suicide or we do it to ourselves thru divorce, bankruptcy and poor health habits.
What can you do to improve your chances of success in your life and career? CopsAlive.com is here to help you by providing resources that you can use to improve your chances of success and create a back-up plan just in case your luck runs out.
Please help us by taking our surveys (PLEASE CLICK HERE) and giving us your comments when we write about subjects that interest you.
Stay safe and good luck!
Sources:
Lucky Number Eight: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_in_Chinese_culture#Eight
CNN on China and the Lucky Number Eight: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/08/china.eight/index.html
Baseball Superstitions: http://baseball.suite101.com/article.cfm/famous_baseball_superstitions
More Baseball Superstitions: http://doubleswitched.com/superstitions.html
Wayne Gretzky: http://www.mcq.org/societe/hockey/pages/aasuperstitions_2.html
RealPolice site and Police Superstitions: http://forums.realpolice.net/showthread.php?t=16569
Take the Hockey Superstition Quiz: http://www.mcq.org/societe/hockey/pages/aasuperstitions_1.html
Take a CopsAlive Survey: https://www.copsalive.com/surveys/
Photo: “Good Luck Fortune Cookie” by J.D. Fielding as Creative Commons on flickr.com
