The feng shui of sports fanaticism

LONDON – I love pregame rituals.

You know how athletes listen to a certain song or wear the same wristbands before each game? Well, fans have their own traditions. Being in London now, I’ve adjusted my basketball-viewing habits to fit my schedule and keep my sanity. But I’ve kept my fanaticism intact.

In middle school and high school, my parents and I would sit on our gray suede couch in the living room. My dad would be on my right, my mom on the left. I always had the Lakers pillow behind my back.

We didn’t sit like this for the entire game though. Throughout the 2 1/2 hours of heart-attack-inducing excitement and panic, my dad would pace up and down our living room. But if the Lakers were losing, he would sit down. Or if my mom went to the kitchen to get some tea and the Lakers went on a streak, she would stay there until the streak ended to maintain good vibes.

The traditions covered all aspects. We only kept the sound on if we were watching them on the local Los Angeles station. During last year’s Finals against the Celtics, my dad said we couldn’t wear green.

Eastern Europeans, especially those in the former Soviet Union, are traditionally superstitious. But though my parents have given up most of their fears, part of us genuinely believes in the power of movement.

I think of it as basketball feng shui.

When I went to college, my parents had a void in our living room, and I had to find my own special pattern.

I finally came up with the most effective way to watch a game. I would have the TV on for the game – on mute, just like my parents – and my laptop would have ESPN.com on so I could keep track of statistics.

So far I haven’t had any pregame rituals in London. Because of the time difference, I’ve been going to bed before the games begin and waking up to check the results.

But now that the Lakers are up 2-1 against Orlando, I need to find some way to keep the streak going. I watched game one on gametracker, caught the fourth quarter of game two on a live streaming site and fell asleep after halftime of game three.

I know that my small traditions won’t affect their field-goal percentage. These rituals are not as much for their benefit as it is for mine.

These habits make me feel connected to my team. Memphis is a full-day’s drive away from Los Angeles, and Bloomington is even farther. But to sit the same way I have been sitting throughout almost 1,000 games erases the distance. Yelling at the coaches and individual players doesn’t mean they hear my four-letter word suggestions, but that I too contribute to the game plan.

Even though my inconsistency hasn’t hurt the Lakers’ chances, I want some security, comfort and reassurance for the rest of the series.

Time to rearrange some furniture.