Story Idea: "The Mascot"

Professional athletes are a cowardly, superstitious lot. Football players won't change their jocks because they think it brings them luck. Baseball pitchers have to touch the pitcher's mound with their left toe first before stepping all the way up.

Fans are absorbed by this, too. The rituals and routines observed by players are equally as important to fans, who have their 'lucky hats,' or a fan who buys an extra season ticket for his drum in the bleachers.

What if each professional sports team has one individual, one person who can affect the outcome of the game just by their presence in the stadium or arena. One person who, just by being there, will bring luck to the local team and curse whomever they're playing.

But what if that person hated the home team with a passion? What if the Yankees mascot was an Indians fan? Or the man who could bless the Dallas Cowboys was a 49ers fan?

***

This just in: How about this--what if every sports team not only had a team pastor but a team shaman as well? What if their team mascot was also a totem shaman of some sort, and all these shamans were constantly battling each other to affect the outcomes of games? The owners would know, the players might know, but the fans wouldn't realize that the real power behind the teams was really magical, and all the rituals they did really did affect the teams karma or chi? How cool would that be?