The Bears do not appear outwardly to be a superstitious bunch, which is not to say Friday the 13th is without meaning for them.
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It’s a good day to be sure that certain, um, customs are observed.
Bears linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, who said he has to shave his entire body before every game, wants to avoid a meeting jinx.
“Lance Briggs always turns off the lights in the [linebackers] meeting room,” he said. “He was out of the room when we finished one time, and coach (Bob) Babich asked me, `Brendon, can you turn out the lights?’
“I sort of mumbled, `Uh, no, I’m not the guy who turns off the lights, and it’d be bad luck if I do that.’ Coach got mad at me, so I had to turn out the lights. But I did not like doing it. Bad luck.”
For his part, Briggs doesn’t like “crossing poles, letting a pole come between you and a friend when you’re walking.”
Added Briggs:
“And I’m afraid of heights. I do sit in window seats of planes so I can lean against the side and sleep. But the shade always goes right down.”
Is it a time when NFL players avoid black cats?
“No way,” Ayanbadejo said. “I have a black cat.”