Wow, you really are going all out on the mojo. Well, my superstitions aren’t nearly as labor intensive as yours. I’m growing a playoff beard which I won’t shave until the Spurs are out of the playoffs, hopefully after winning it all. I will wear my unlucky turned lucky Manu t-shirt for game 4, and take a shower before the game starts. And also I won’t post a comment until halftime.

This is the weirdest superstition, but it reared it’s head again this series. Back in ‘05, on the night of game 7 of the NBA Finals, I neglected to wear my Ginobili jersey. We all know the outcome of that series. Long story short, I wore my Spurs shirt during games 1 & 2, but not game 3 of this series. Will I be wearing #20 on Sunday night? Hell no! lol

I had a rec league game on Thursday that tipped off at 8:30 and ended around 9:20. I then listened to the rest of the game in the car on the way home, about thirty minutes. I pulled into my driveway just as Bowen and Manu hit shots at the end of the first half. I then came inside, showered, and watched the third quarter and most of the fourth in the bedroom. Then my wife went to bed, at which point I moved to watching in the living room. I missed about a minute of game action, during which the Spurs’ lead ballooned from 6 to 12 points. Then I watched the rest of the game in the living room.

So my question for you guys is how far should I go to recreate the night? Should I wear the same clothes? Not watch the first half and listen on the radio to the end of the second quarter? Shower during halftime? Watch the third and first half of the fourth quarter in the bedroom? I’m worried it will be my fault if I don’t duplicate Thursday night with precision, but that’s going to be nearly impossible :-)

i’m kind of worried about me wrecking some mojo. so far in this series, if i’ve watched the game we have lost. i didn’t watch game 3 (had a final the next morning), and we won. I wore my ginobili jersey for game 1, we lost. i didn’t wear it for game 2, we lost.

now i’m actually GOING to game 4, and i don’t know whether i should wear my jersey or not, as well as my spurs hat.

i dunno what i can do to help the mojo

I couldn’t bear to watch the other night so I went with some friends to the late showing of Iron Man. I will be going to see Iron Man every time we play, or at least until we lose…

My plan is to only check the score via internet about every 20 minutes until the 4th quarter. This consists of pulling up the Gamecast on ESPN.com just long enough to see score, time/quarter, and briefly look at the box score. 15 seconds max.

No actual watching until crunch time. This has worked in games 1, 3 and 5 of the Suns series, as well as game 3 of this one. When I watch an entire game, such as game 2 of this series or game 4 of the last one, we lose.

Also, I have shaved off my beard, which I’ve had for almost 3 years with the following exceptions: last year’s playoffs, and this year’s.

I hate this, but it must be done.

Okay get this. First series against the suns My girlfriend wore my “Manu: Simply Erotic” T-shirt and the 2 games that she wore it we won. I figured it was golden so she wore it the first 2 games of this series and well we all know how that went. So on Thursday she went shopping and came home with this teal shirt on. And then it struck me. These NOLA folk deal with voodoo and curses among other crazy stuff. So stealing a page from J-Terrys book (and yes I hate him forevermore) I told her to keep that shirt on for the game and it worked! Also she bought a yellow shirt that day and she’s wearing that one tomorrow night and the curses on NOLA will continue.

Still confused by what I should do. I miss Game 3, and we win. What do I do for Game 4? I hate to miss it, but am completely committed to doing what it takes. If it IS me, we can’t afford me screwing up. I can always TiVo it and watch it later.

The cookies and milk are gone, and the special rally towel hanging from the dresser is also gone. The 20-year old SPURS T-shirt has been washed and rewashed 3 times, and it’s ready to go. Haven’t shaved since Game 2. Hopefully all of that with the no-posting during the game will be enough.

The black on black #44 Gervin throwback jersey with San Antonio on the front with whiskey and Dr. Pepper has been the money combo for at least 3 years now. I think there’s a 75% winning percentage with that. Needless to say both will be on display for game 4.

SiMA, I’ve been thinking long and hard on this one. And I’ve got a long answer.

I think mojo and superstition is much more than just routine. It’s about bringing a positive attitude and positive vibes. Your dilemma reminds me of playing craps. When you play craps you know the odds are against you. You can’t win on superstitions. However, it isn’t any fun to gamble thinking (and knowing) you are going to lose. So you have to find ways to create enough positive vibes in the universe to tilt the odds in your favor for just a little while.

When I play craps I don’t allow myself to have any negative thoughts. More importantly, I don’t play with fear. Once you are afraid, the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Wheel of Fortuna will frown on you and punish you for your lack of faith. You can’t play craps afraid you are going to crap out. You have to KNOW that you will make your point. If the dice go off the table, you can’t be afraid that they have been tainted or that it was a bad omen. You can’t let fear creep into your thoughts.

Let me tell you my story about the first game of this post-season. I wasn’t feeling the Spurs mojo coming into the playoffs. As you will recall, the Spurs-Suns kicked off with a 2:30 ST (Spurs Time) tipoff on a Saturday. I didn’t watch the game. I decided I was too busy doing yard work. I came in to check the score about 45 minutes into the game to find us down 14 or 16. As chance would have it, I checked again with just under a minute left. I saw FinDog hit his 3. I still wasn’t feeling it and went back in the yard for a while and came in to see the last 30 seconds of the first OT. After Tim hit his 3, I was feeling it and I watched all of the second OT.

I didn’t hesitate to watch game 2. It wasn’t about reproducing my actions for game 2. It was about bringing something positive to the table to help turn things in their favor. I watched the first two games of this series and I still watched game 3, although I debated not watching it. I thought, “hey, I’m not giving up on this team and I think they will pull through”. I talked myself into bringing positive mojo.

So, SiMA, it’s about bringing positive mojo. Don’t be afraid that you ARE the problem. The world isn’t that simple. You just need to make sure that your mojo quotient is helping to tip the scales in the Spurs favor, not against it.

I understand everything you guys are saying. Its all logical in this illogical sort of way but it sounds like you guys all might have some moderate OCD cases. In all honesty I used to follow in the faith of the mojo but one day I just snapped and let it all go. I convinced myself pretty easily, I dunno how, that it was all just an illusion. So far life’s been good… No spontaneous ignitions of negative mojo build-up. Maybe my dismal fate has yet to come or maybe it really is an illusion… who knows. But it sure wont damage our chances to have the superstitious bloc on our side! (haha, get it? im being superstitious)