You’ve probably heard about superstitious broadcasters refusing to comment on pending perfect games or super-close shutouts…in fact it was a topic on a recent Voice Behind the Voice podcast where host Sean Aronson spoke with Dave Sims of the Seattle Mariners and the topic came up (for the record Dave is a fan of talking about the game and doesn’t carry those superstitions).
For those who are superstitious, and believe in the jinx or hex a broadcaster can put on a player, I present another layer of evidence for your growing collection. A cricket match between Australia and South Africa where Australian batsman David Warner was perilously close to a milestone century score when broadcaster Mark Nicholas mentioned he had never been ‘out’ in the 90’s.
Cue the sporting gods…
You don’t have to understand cricket to know what just happened as the very next ball after Nicholas mentioned that Warner had never been out in the 90’s….Warner edges a catch to Hashim Amla and the sporting gods get a little bit of a laugh. The reaction at the end of the video from the ultra superstitious Shane Warne (who is the other voice in the video) is priceless and has the always classic “I TOLD YOU” look at the end and you can tell what side of the arguement Warne is on when it comes to broadcasters jinxing players on air.
What’s your take on this superstition? Do you say “shutout”, “perfect game” or other similar terms when appropriate?
