Pre-Game Rituals Athletes Can’t Live Without 

Every player has their favorite meal, or some sort of ritual they need before a game. But then there are those few athletes with the weirdest pre-game rituals that make you think, “where did they get that idea from?”. Here are just a few of your favorite athletes and the pre-game rituals they can’t live without!

Victor Hedman 

Remember that ridiculous game we would all play where you grab a knife and try to stab between each finger? Well this alarming game in is fact one of Victor Hedman’s pre-game rituals, or at least a variation of it. Call it the knife game, five finger roulette or whatever you want. Hedman plays this game but with a hockey stick on his assistant equipment manager before a game. Hedman explains how this helps him to get in the zone before a game. This assistant equipment manager must have some pretty strong trust with Victor Hedman.

Mitch Marner and the Leafs 

Two goals for @Marner93 last night, must've been the pregame ice cream! 😂 #StanleyCup Confidential pic.twitter.com/v3rcc6rHSN

— NHL (@NHL) April 12, 2019

Mitch Marner has always had a bit of a strange pre-game meal ever since he was a young hockey player. When Marner was playing bantam and midget hockey, it was fast food everyday, specifically McDonalds. Marner would eat a full McDonald’s meal before every game, thinking it somehow transferred to his success. However, now that he is a professional hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, he has switched from McDonald’s to ice cream. Check out this video of Marner eating what he calls “ice cream soup” right before game 1 in the 2019 Stanley cup playoffs.

Apart from Marner’s pre-game meal, he and the rest of the Leafs love to kick the soccer ball around before a game. The team will get together in a circle, pass the ball around, have a couple of laughs and get both focused and hyped for the game.

Tiger Woods 

ON SUNDAYS WE WEAR RED! 🐅🔴🔴🐯@TigerWoods // @PNCchampionship pic.twitter.com/WGRimdFgRe

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) December 19, 2021

For those of you who have been watching Tiger Woods for a while now, you may have noticed a pattern with his clothes. Every Sunday, Tiger Woods will make sure he is wearing a red a shirt to the golf course. Tiger explains how he has been wearing red on Sundays and the last days of big events, like the PGA Championship, ever since his college days. This tradition has become so strong that other golfers have joined in to show their support. Back in 2021 Tiger Woods was in a serious car accident, so some of the top names in golf would wear red on Sunday’s to honor and wish him a speedy recovery.

Jason Terry 

Per the #Bucks team media guide, Jason Terry sleeps in the shorts of the opposing team before every game. Legendary.

— Tom Dierberger (@tomdierberger) October 18, 2017

Many players have pre-game rituals, but Jason Terry has one that’s pretty strange. Before we get into that, lets take a look at some Terry’s more “normal” ones. Terry has to eat chicken before every game, doesn’t matter the variation, as long as it’s chicken. Terry will also wear five pairs of socks during his games. But the pre-game ritual that takes the cake is the night before a game, Terry will go to sleep in the shorts of the opposing team. I wonder who gets all these pairs of shorts for him?

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