Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Stevens quoted on sports superstitions, rituals

Release Date: May 6, 2008 This content is archived.

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An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the game-day rituals of fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and other sports teams, quotes Phillips Stevens Jr., associate professor of anthropology and an expert of superstitions and rituals. "There are taboos all over the world about talking about something potentially sensitive," he said. "There is a universal belief that words can make things happen -- this power of blessing and the power of curse."

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