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Friday the 13th draws players’ attention

By Jason Jordan | jjordan@dailypress.com

HAMPTON — East running back Haroon Brown of Phoebus gave second thoughts about making his usual lightning quick plants and cuts or barreling over would-be tacklers on a slightly damp field.

East lineman Wesley Haggan of Grafton was more conscious of the chop block than usual, and his teammate Zack Howell, also a lineman from Warwick, got reminded of why his two teammates had their apprehensions.

On a dark overcast Friday night, players cautiously strolled into Darling Stadium to participate in the Virginia High School Coaches Association all-star football game with the lingering cloud of superstition that is associated with Friday the 13th.

By the time the East pulled out a 27-7 win over the West, the players breathed a sigh of relief and were reassured that the second and final Friday the 13th of the year was as normal as touchdowns and tackles.

"I wasn’t really worried about it too much," said Haggan, who will play for the University of Charleston-West Virginia next season. "It’s just that superstition thing with Friday the 13th, but no one knows why."

What is known is that triskaidekaphobia is the dictionary word for the fear of the No. 13. But its spooky origin was entrenched long before Jason Voorhees was terrorizing movie screens in the 1980s.

Scandinavian mythology tells a story about a dinner party at Valhalla, or the Hall of the Slain.

Twelve gods were invited, but Loki, the Evil One, god of mischief and dinner guest No. 13, had been left off of the guest list. So he crashed the party and, in the process, brought mischief and misfortune to mankind.

The belief that bad luck is more prone on Friday the 13th would be a hard sell to East wide receiver Matt Snyder of Deep Run.

He’s proof that it doesn’t take a combination of the sixth day of the week and the No. 13 to meet with an unfortunate fate. Snyder broke his collarbone in practice on Wednesday the 11th.

Howell, who will play for Saint Augustine’s College in Raleigh, N.C. next season, wasn’t aware of the infamous date until after he twisted his foot early in the first quarter.

"It makes more sense now," he said. "I’m just glad I got a chance to play."

Haroon Brown, who leaves on Sunday to play for the University of Maryland, had never gotten a cramp in his four years of playing varsity football, but late in the second quarter his leg tightened up with pains.

"It had to have been that (Friday) 13th thing," Brown said. "You didn’t have to tell me twice. I came on out because I’m not trying to get hurt."

But East linebacker Jacobi Fenner of Hampton doesn’t buy into the superstitions. Not even when a set of the stadium lights mysteriously shut off midway through the third quarter.

"I’m not with that," said Fenner, who will play at Hampton University next season. "Not at all. The best method to get over all that is to play even harder than you normally would." «