University of Arizona alum, superfan shares game-day ritual

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Whether it is a fortunate shirt, a selected seat, or a pre-game routine, University of Arizona sports activities followers say these traditions present a way of connection, and maybe even somewhat management, over the result of a sport.

For Ashley Hendrickson, a 2001 U of A graduate, that dedication includes a strict game-day wardrobe ritual.

“Oh no, I mean, anything that might sway the game in the Cats’ favor for us to win, I’m pretty much down for it as long as someone is willing to bail me out of jail,” Hendrickson mentioned.

Hendrickson’s lifelong fandom began early.

“I was little, I was really little. My dad and my mom would take me to the games; we had three season tickets,” Hendrickson mentioned.

Over time, that fandom was a routine she follows throughout each males’s basketball sport.

“The first time I changed my shirt was at the Elite Eight in LA, 2015, when we lost to Wisconsin. And I had taken the shirts, and when we started to lose, I changed the shirts a couple of times. And it worked, and then it didn’t work, so I changed it back,” Hendrickson mentioned.

She says her wardrobe routine isn’t random.

“I always start every game in this outfit. With the same shirt, the same jeans, same socks, same bracelets, same earrings,” Hendrickson mentioned.

Her ritual follows a selected order as the sport unfolds. If the Wildcats begin shedding, she takes issues into her personal palms.

“And I start by taking the left bracelet off, and if that doesn’t make an incredible difference right away, immediately the right bracelets come off,” Hendrickson mentioned.

Sometimes, the timing of these adjustments feels unimaginable to disregard.

“Then I watch for another 30 seconds and I sit back for another 30 seconds, a minute, see what happens and then I go to this shirt,” Hendrickson mentioned.

Hendrickson recollects a 2024 University of Arizona males’s basketball sport towards Utah the place she felt her game-day ritual labored.

“We had gone into triple overtime, and I kept changing shirts, and we kept tying the game. And so, but I had gone through all the shirts, and we couldn’t pull away. So, for the third overtime, I actually just went shirtless and sat under a blanket and we won,” Hendrickson mentioned.

Now, the ritual has grown past simply her, with mates and different followers watching intently and becoming a member of in.

Ashley Hendrickson

“I will get texts from my friends, ‘Did you take the bracelets off? Are you changing yet? When are you changing? What’s happening?'” Hendrickson mentioned.

While she doesn’t absolutely consider it controls the result, it makes each sport really feel extra linked.

Ashley Hendrickson

“If anything more, it just brings a sense of community, having something in common. That’s my favorite part about it,” Hendrickson mentioned.

She is taking her routine on the highway, heading to Indianapolis Friday to look at the Wildcats play and hoping her rituals deliver somewhat additional luck.

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