Posted on 09/22/2006 6:29:30 AM PDT by Dysart
IRVING -- Bill Parcells may share similarities with Vince Lombardi, Paul Brown or other old-school coaching icons, but he also shares a characteristic with Ichabod Crane.
"Is he superstitious? Oh, my God, was it bad," former New York Giants receiver Phil McConkey said. "We're talking really bad."
When Parcells was the Giants' coach, players who walked into his office would see elephant totems. That's plural, as in at least 25, McConkey says. Elephant totems are supposed to keep bad luck out, and good luck in. So the trunks of the elephants faced into Parcells' office.
"The few times we were allowed in there, we would always try to turn the trunks toward the door just to mess with him," McConkey said.
Parcells can spout statistics with any stats geek and his m.o. is preparation, which belies one of the quirkier aspects of his personality. As with Crane, the fictitious superstitious schoolmaster in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, superstitions are no laughing matter to Parcells. He'll go to extreme lengths to see them through, even if it means making himself sick.
He did so Sunday night against Washington. He wore a heavy, lined jacket because of early rain. The rain subsided and the weather was warm, but the Cowboys were winning with the jacket on, and he didn't want to tempt fate.
By the end of the game, he looked awful. And he felt worse.
"I wasn't taking that rain jacket off because we were winning," he said. "That shows you just how warped I am.
"It was stupid. Really what I did was really stupid."
He once told Mike Wallace in an interview with 60 Minutes, "It's a real thing, you know. Superstition."
He offers a simple explanation for his superstitious nature.
"I had an Italian mother," he said. "She was the worst."
How can a man who prepares for every contingency a game could offer, including third-and-14 with three seconds on the clock, believe so heavily in something that says a black feline can and will ultimately decide an outcome?
"Are you superstitious?" he asked. "No? You will be."
During the Giants' Super Bowl-winning season in 1990, Parcells wore the same heavy sweater for every game in the second half of the season. It's necessary to wear a heavy sweater at Giants Stadium in December. It's a joke to wear one, as Parcells did, in 70-plus degree weather in Tampa, Fla., for the 20-19 Super Bowl victory against Buffalo.
"He does do some things that you're like, 'Hmmm...'" said Cowboys cornerback Aaron Glenn, who also played for Parcells with the New York Jets.
For Parcells, whatever the routine, however insignificant or mundane, the week of a win, it must be repeated the next week. Drive the same way to work. Stop at the same coffeehouse. Wear the same clothing; that's especially vital.
Former Giants running back Ottis Anderson recalls that Parcells insisted he wear the same practice pants the week of Super Bowl XXV and during the game.
"He thought we would have a better chance to win if I wore them," Anderson said with a laugh.
While Parcells was coaching the Jets in 1998, his team stood on a sideline in Kansas City during the national anthem. During the final portion of the song, fans yelled, "Home of the CHIEFS!" His team yelled "Home of the JETS!"
The Jets won 20-17.
"Every time after that, no matter where we were, we yelled, 'Home of the Jets!'" said Cowboys nose tackle Jason Ferguson, who was with the Jets then. "Bill says, 'Yeah! Keep doing it!' He was with it."
When Cowboys receiver Terry Glenn was with Parcells in New England, a practice was canceled because it was raining. Only it was sunny and clear outside. Seven days before that particular practice, it was raining and the practice was canceled. The Patriots won, so the routine had to be repeated, rain or shine.
The Cowboys quickly learned Parcells' superstitions aren't negotiable. During his first season with Dallas, the team was set to release its new fall apparel during the Thanksgiving Day game.
The coaches wear the new gear during the game, viewers see it on TV and flock to the stores the next day, the busiest shopping day of the year, to buy the latest Cowboys hat, jacket, etc. Only Parcells wasn't having any of it.
The Cowboys had won the week before, and he wasn't changing his jacket. With Parcells wearing the "outdated" coat, the Cowboys lost 40-21.
The next week, Parcells wore the latest look.
"Athletes and coaches all have their quirks," McConkey said. "I did, so I can relate to it -- just not to that degree."
Routines matter
NFL players have some unusual superstitions, such as:
Plaxico Burress WR, NY Giants
Eats grilled salmon and white rice every Saturday night before a game.
Ahman Green RB, Green Bay
Watches the video Pure Payton on the eve of every game.
Rex Grossman QB, Chicago
Takes a shower after warming up on the field before a game.
John Henderson DT, Jacksonville
Is slapped before each game by assistant trainer Joe Sheehan.
Moran Norris FB, San Francisco
Does not walk under the crossbars before games.
Mike Sellers FB, Washington
Does not eat before a game, even if it's a night game.
Lawrence Tynes K, Kansas City
Washes his car before every home game.
Posters note: I have no reason to believe asst. trainer Joe Sheehan is any relation to Cindy but one never knows...
Here is Henderson on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG16LT5Fje0
I'll check it out tonight.
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