Sunday Funday

This Sunday I took the day off from watching sports. The Orioles have been slumping lately and had lost 15 consecutive Sundays. They were also playing the Angels who have the best record in baseball. So I figured that I would enjoy my Sunday more if I didn't spend it watching the game. Damn it. I was wrong. Not only did the Orioles beat the Angels 5-2. But Garrett Olson had the best start of any Orioles pitcher in the last 8 games. He made it into the 7th inning. Which has seemed impossible for our pitchers to do lately. George Sherrill racked up his 30th save. That's more than all the Orioles pitchers combined in 2007. What happened?

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited that our losing streak is broken and that we managed to avoid a sweep by a great team, but why did it happen the day I decided not to pay attention. Players tend to be very superstitious. Kevin Millar shaved his head to get back on track. (He likes to grow facial hair but this is against the team policy.) He did it on Friday and then hit 2 home runs. I guess it worked. Sports fans are even more superstitious. I have a friend that wears his Ravens jersey's in a particular order to ensure that they win. I have another friend who believes a Baltimore losing streak can be combated by adding Old Bay to whatever food is eaten during the game. I don't argue with either of these theories as long as we win. I too really believe that how I watch the game has some effect on the outcome. I didn't watch the game and we won, should I stop watching? I just can't do that. Not this season. I can't remember the last time I was still excited about baseball in August. Maybe I just shouldn't watch on Sundays. But Sunday Funday is more fun when the game is on.

So what to do? I will ignore the results of last Sunday as a fluke. Maybe I just needed to change it up to help my team win. I want us to keep winning on Sundays. And I want to keep watching. But this time I'll accept that the win had nothing to do with me. It must have been some other fan or player changing their routine. And next week I'll be ready for a real Sunday Funday. One where I watch the O's continue a streak of winning on Sundays. I just hope that other fan does whatever it was that keeps them winning.