The Fun. superstitions of the 25-game Norfolk Admirals winning streak

Consider the psyche of the professional athlete. They're creatures of habit and slaves to superstition, to the point where many won't even address questions about their superstitions … out of superstition.

So when a team like the AHL Norfolk Admirals is on a 25-game winning streak — the longest in North American pro hockey history — one imagines the intensity and variety of superstitions would be at critical mass. Which, in fact, they are.

Jim Hodges of the Virginian-Pilot has a great piece chronicling the many superstitions of the Admirals as they head into their final three games of the regular season this weekend vs. Albany, Binghamton and Adirondack. They include:

• Coach Jon Cooper having chicken and broccoli for dinner, to the point where waitresses at local restaurants scold him for attempting to eat steak.

• Winger Eric Neilson having not shaved during the streak, while AHL rookie of the year Cory Conacher hasn't had a haircut.

• Center Tyler Johnson tweeting a variation of the same thing after each win: "[Insert number here] is a fluke, [insert one number higher here] is a streak."

• Finally, the team's official locker room celebration song after each win: "We Are Young" by the band Fun., which Hodges reports the players heard during a Super Bowl commercial on Feb. 5 — the last time the team lost a game. Now, they sing it in the room after each win.

Much more here from the Pilot. A superstitious team with a 25-game winning streak on Friday the 13th … oh dear.