Jinx doesn't exist. Neither does superstition.
Jinx is imaginary, but superstition clearly is a real thing (as in, being superstitious and thus believing in jinxing, karma etc. affects many people's behaviour).
Jinxes and karma might be silly to some people, but when you play anything type of competitive team sport, or even individual sport, its definitely part of the game. I always had my own thing before we had a basketball or baseball game, and if I missed something, i would go back and do it again from the beginning. Most professional athletes are very superstitious, and have their own weird rituals. I believe in karma, and I believe that what goes around comes around.
And when you play for a team, there are certain things you just never do. I never mentioned a no-hitter the three times our pitcher had a shot at one, and Im sure nobody mentions shutouts or things along those lines, to goalies. That is why I get annoyed at things like what Lindsay said last night, because you just dont do that. I know, it sounds silly, but that is how I am. And its big in sports, just ask Cubs fans, Sox fans, etc. Or go to Fenway, and while their pitcher is pitching a perfect game into the 7th inning, mention a perfect game to the people around you, and see how many explicits are shouted at you.
This is a bit obvious, but if you start talking about shutouts to goalies themselves during the game (or of possibility of a no-hitter to the pitcher) it has a direct influence in the real world as it may change the awareness and thought processes going through the player's head. (Which could, mind you, be a negative OR a positive influence depending on the player).
The thing with athlete's rituals is that they also can 'work' in some sense because going through them can be a part of what sets the athlete in the right place mentally. If they have missed their routines, they could feel uncomfortable on some level and that could affect their performance. So nothing magical going on there either, just psychology (and we all DO know that psychology is a huge part of sports).
Superstitions about jinxing when in no direct contact with the person in question, however, do not stand up to scrutiny. I do understand why people feel strongly about jinxing as it is psychologically embedded in human nature, but I think it might be worthwhile to let go of human intuitions in cases where they can be actually
proven to be misleading.
When I was reading the game thread, someone mentioned that Billy Lindsay's 'jinxes' are like clockwork. Every time he mentions Lu is on his way to a shutout for example, it's gone. Now, I will account for the possibility that maybe Billy Lindsay is a wizard who can make things happen by saying the opposite thing, but I believe it's much more likely that the "every time" in particular is just a case of false positives.
Let's say Billy Lindsay mentions that Luongo is on his way to a shutout before the 3rd period. To look scientifically at what happens subsequently, you have to consider the related statistics: How often do trailing teams score their 1st goal on the 3rd period, How likely is Luongo to let in a goal in the 3rd period and so on. If you considered these statistics, and started comparing this information with the times Lindsay mentions shutouts vs. the times he doesn't, I
predict that you would not see any statistical abnormalities.
Whether you think this post is obvious or condescending, really I just want people to be intellectually honest with with this stuff. Jinxing is testable and has never been proven to be a real thing.
