It isn’t just Stevie Wonder that believes in a little superstition. In sport there are countless tales of players who have repeated patterns of behaviour or reworn the same items of clothing because they believed it would help Lady Luck shine on them when they needed it most.
If you ask anyone to conjure up an image of a famous golfer then the sight of Tiger Woods donning a red shirt on a major Sunday would be one of the first to come into view.
Harking back to his college days at Stanford, Woods believed the colour of his shirt genuinely influenced his chances of winning the biggest tournaments on Earth – and when you look at his trophy cabinet, it’s hard to argue with him.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan famously wore his University of North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls kit while leading them to six NBA Championship titles. He insists he washed them after every game, which we can only hope was true for his nearest and dearest.
In tennis Björn Borg was the king of Wimbledon for half a decade, lifting the men’s title for five years straight from 1976 all the way to 1980. The Swedish supremo grew a ‘lucky beard’ and wore the same Fila shirt every time he arrived at SW19, with the move again appearing to do the trick on court.
Of course, no one could argue that the likes of Jordan and Woods dominated their sports for so long just because they had a magic pair of shorts or a red T-shirt to pull on. They were the best in the business because of many factors, not least the countless hours of practice they put in and their incredible talent.
But it’s fascinating that even those at the very top of their sport put such importance on something so simple and seemingly unimportant to their ability to perform on the biggest stages.
When asked this week if he was superstitious, Stephen Robinson admitted he was “ridiculously so” while still a player but had become more “pragmatic” the longer his career has gone on.
He also revealed there were plenty of Buddies in his squad that had a superstitious tic, whether that be a lucky pair of boots or a favourite pair of socks.
And he revealed he wouldn’t try to warn them away from it as they prepare to face Celtic in a game when they’ll more than likely need a healthy dash of luck to come away with a positive result.
That being said, the Saints do at least have history on their side this season. The Paisley side remain the only club to topple the Hoops in Scotland this season, with Ange Postecoglou’s men having only been defeated by Real Madrid and RB Leipzig in their entire 2022/23 campaign so far.
Robinson’s men pulled off the massive upset at the SMiSA Stadium last September, a fully merited 2-0 win which was sensationally comfortable.
This time around they’ll be without Jonah Ayunga, a goalscorer on that day, and an all-round nuisance up front alongside Curtis Main.
His physical presence will be a big miss both this weekend and for the rest of the season, with his replacement Tony Watt hoping to grab his first goal against his former employers on Sunday afternoon.
Having the likes of Keanu Baccus, Alex Greive and Scott Tanser all back would be a massive boost for the Buddies, with Baccus particularly important to keeping up with the relentless passing and pressing of the Celtic midfield.
What may inadvertently work in St Mirren ’s favour is the Hoops’ League Cup triumph against rivals Rangers last weekend. Of course, they’re going to be in buoyant mood after another trophy success.
But there is a danger of a drop in concentration of any team after going through the emotional and physical strain and stress of a cup final – particularly against their biggest rivals.
So while the Buddies might need a little help from their lucky pants on Sunday, there’s no doubt in my mind they have the quality, desire and work ethic to pull off another shock win in Paisley.
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