In the Hulu series “Brockmire” the Frackers, a derelict minor league team in Morristown, Pa., go on an extended winning streak when the eponymous hero and the female franchise owner start having sex before games. When Hank Azaria and Amanda Peete, the hard-drinking pair, finally quarrel and skip a ribald rendezvous, the Frackers lose 18-0.
Surely, whether they admit it or not, there are superstitious coaches and players who embrace any evidence of success secured via ritual practice, believing they’ve hit upon a winning formula or totem that assures victory.
For instance, when Lefty Driesell and his visiting Maryland squads beat any Triangle team, the coach returned to the same hotel the next time he was in the area, changing venues when his oncourt fortunes soured.