Superstitions can be a fun way to cheer for Oilers: psychologist

The superstitious traditions of Oilers fans From what jersey to wear to how the remote control is positioned, CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa has more on Oilers fans' superstitions.

In the Ginn household, hockey is a way of life.

Andrea Ginn, who's been an Edmonton Oilers fan since she "was a baby" — with her fandom ramping up during the team's run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final — has passed that passion on to her two sons.

And there's some superstition involved at Ginn's house during the playoffs.

These days, Ginn and sons Alex, 8, and Adrian, 5, don their Oilers togs for the day at the same time: 7:45 a.m.

It's part of a string of superstitions she has, which started almost 20 years ago during that unlikely, magical Oilers run to the finals.

In '06, Ginn, her mother and her grandmother started a tradition of wearing Oilers jerseys on game days.

"The rule was you cannot wash it if they win, and you cannot wear the same jersey if they lose," Ginn told CTV News Edmonton.

"My mom follows that during the regular season. We just do it in the playoffs because you know how kids are."

Sports superstitions are serious business.

Some fans, such as Edmonton's Manny Deol, feel they hold the Oilers' destiny in their hands.

The life-long Oilers fan is particular with the remote controls controlling his television system.

Two years ago, he kept his remotes and his phone in place after Edmonton started scoring.

"I would leave them like that, and then the next game would come, I'd put my remote controls and phone the same way until they either lost or couldn't score, then I would change it up and then they start going on a run and then I keep on doing that until they made the playoffs," Deol said.

"Even through playoffs, I would add on which blanket I was using — I'd have a blanket with me, I'd have the same blanket on my legs every time.

"It's just a weird tradition like that."

Deol says he's known as 'The Jinx' among his friends.

"They always say that every time I cheer for the team, bet on the opposite team," he said.

"I've even been doing the reverse jinx where I'm saying, 'The Kings are going to win,' so that I'm reversing my own jinx so that the Oilers win."

Dr. Ganz Ferrance, a psychologist, says superstitions can be harmless if they stay fun.

"It's one thing to cheer for the team together, but it's a whole other thing to feel like we have some sort of influence on it by our actions, too," Ferrance told CTV News Edmonton.

"It's fun, and it gives us this sense of a little bit of control and power in kind of what the outcomes are."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Matt Marshall