Superstitionism - The Psychology of Sport

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Superstition disrupts athletes’ psychology and exists at the heart of their core beliefs. What caused football pundit Pat Nevin to balk at one of the most surreal experiences he had ever witnessed in the not-so-beautiful game? What left football manager Harry Redknapp skeptical of a pre-match prayer meeting before facing the might of Manchester United F.C? What caused the media to coin the phrase ‘Freaky Fridays’ to describe how elite golfer Rory McIlroy’s supreme performances on Thursdays regularly deteriorated the following day?Is luck merely a figment of imagination despite being integral to how many athletes think? How does the fear of ‘Juju’ magic reportedly experienced by Togo International footballer Emmanuel Adebayor differ from Irish Gaelic football’s ‘Juju’ hex infamously known as the Mayo Curse? Is it purely a matter of demographics, is there such a thing as the Commentator’s Curse, and is God a superstition?How you think can determine whether you are meteoric or mediocre, but this is not quite sport as you might imagine. Instead something far deeper is shaping your unique sporting genius, and that something is core superstitious beliefs. So hold onto your hat and open your mind to an engaging and enlightening exploration of how athletes mentally prepare before a whistle is blown or starting pistol fired.

Talking With David White

What was the inspiration for writing Superstitionism?

My inspiration was to explore the very real impact of superstitions (irrational beliefs) on the mind-sets & subsequent performances and mental health of elite athletes in sports. Sports reflects all of community in microcosm, and so I knew that my findings with athletes would act as a mirror for us all. I was also curious to understand the degree to which people were prepared to swap rationality for such fictional concepts as luck, superstitions, universal law of attraction, and even prayer. So it's a book of education. I gained wonderful insight and much greater awareness of people's faith in beliefs which I now enjoy sharing with my audience.

What was the writing process like for Superstitionism?

Exciting, tough and mentally challenging but none-the-less exhilarating on completion. I can't over emphasize the mentally challenging part, though, especially during periods of writer's block. Many times during the process people tried to encourage me with the common old adage "They say everyone has a book in them don't they?", but many times I admit to thinking yes and I wish I'd bloody-well left it where it was. My desire to be an author however and sheer curiosity regarding such a compelling topic drove me to be disciplined, to seek out vibrant places to write, and to see the process through. I learned a lot about myself while writing and encourage others with similar writing ambitions to embark on their journey page-by-wonderful-page.

What music did you listen to while writing Superstitionism?

Elevator music for want of better terms. I spent a lot of time in coffee shops and hotel receptions etc. Anywhere really where I could merge solitude with observation and vibrancy & in the case of the coffee shops, the smell of coffee and buns.

What was your favorite scene in Superstitionism to write?

My favourite scene in Superstitionism - The Psychology of Sport, was watching former Chelsea, Everton and Scottish International footballer Pat Nevin react during our interview, to being asked about superstitious beliefs. Pat was so adamant that he was totally unaffected by superstitious beliefs that he specifically went out of his way to prove to his peers that he was completely unaffected. An act which in itself (as I pointed out) was a bit of a Freudian slip, since why, if he was so totally unaffected, did he feel any need to react at all? Pat laughed at first at the ridiculousness of whole idea, but then his wide eyes transformed into an inquisitive squint as he visibly began to ponder whether reacting so publicly to the idea of people acting out their superstitious beliefs meant he was affected (for whatever reason) after all.

What was the hardest scene in Superstitionism to write?

The hardest scene to write was that of a former International Rugby League star with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) since he was 15 or 16 years old, whose life began spiralling out of control. So-much-so that he felt the need to flick his light switch on-&-off hundreds of times before he could settle, or get his hands wrapped and rewrapped up to ten times before each game, and spend up to half an hour on each visit to the supermarket carpark moving forward and then reversing his car in a parking space before he felt able to get out and shop.