Shave and a haircut... more wins?

This is a quick update on my previous entry, regarding superstitions. Among them was the idea that some guys don't shave while they're on a winning streak.

Well, Houston Astros players Jeff Bagwell and Brad Ausmus were two of the players who could light a match with their face, due to more than two weeks' worth of impressive facial hair. After losing the first two games of the World Series, Jeff and Brad have decided it's time for a change, so if you tune in to the game Tuesday night you will see that they have shaved down to just a goatee.

I felt like getting caught up in the spirit and joining them in their follicle pursuits, but there was one problem... I already have a goatee. Where do I go from here? I can't shave it all off, as it makes me look 12 years old and does me no favors in my career. Not to mention what it would do to my 2-year-old daughter -- she had enough trouble adjusting when I wore contact lenses on Saturday instead of my glasses.

Then, of course, I had to laugh at the irony of getting caught up in the very behavior I had satirized here in my blog. So now, I will not be joining in any kind of superstitious mumbo-jumbo, pretending that the things I do will have any effect whatsoever on how a team of professional athletes performs on the field. The Astros are down two games to none, and only a fool would think he could make a difference with his own little rituals at home.

So if you'll excuse me, I have to go put on my special Astros hat, which I've been saving for desperate times like this. I know what I said earlier, but c'mon... this is the World Series! It can't hurt, can it?