Marauders work hard to bring good luck their way

On the eve of the 2011 Vanier Cup, Marauders kicker Tyler Crapigna said he hoped the game might come down to a big kick.

“I really love those situations,” he told the Daily News back then. “I find it really brings out the best in me. So far, throughout my life I’ve thrived in those situations, so hopefully I can keep it up if I’m needed, come game time.”

As it turned out, it did come down to a big kick – twice.

With the game tied, only seconds left in regulation time and the ball teed up 30 yards from the goal line, he kicked and missed, sending the game into overtime.

Then, at the end of a second overtime period, came a chance at redemption, and he nailed it, putting the Marauders into the win column for their first ever national football championship, ending a battle so dramatic that many are describing it as one of the best football games ever played.

Now, as the clock ticks down to the 2012 Vanier Cup, the same two teams are facing one another again. When asked how he feels about the possibility of the game coming down to his foot once more, Crapigna says he hopes the game is a blowout for McMaster, but admits he’d gladly accept another opportunity to put his team over the top.

“There’s always a chance for the game to come down to one field goal,” he said in a recent pre-practice interview.  “I feel like I’m ready for that, if it does happen again.”

Crapigna uses a familiar routine to get his head into the right space for game time. A man of faith, he completes his pre-game warm up routine, then finds a place in the end zone, gathers his thoughts and says a silent prayer before going back to the locker room with the team.

At game time, he crosses himself on his way through the tunnel back to the playing field.

“It gives me a sense of relief. I tell myself that it’s here. It’s happening now. I calm myself before the game so my emotions don’t get the better of me, especially with kicking,” he said. “It makes me feel more at ease. At that moment, after I do that, I’m ready to play the game.”

Rituals and routines are always part of the sports landscape, perhaps most evident when a team is on a streak, or in playoff mode, when no one wants to invite bad luck.

The Marauders, riding a record-setting 21-game streak and heading into the championship game, are in peak ritual mode.

Offensive lineman Chris Pickard, for example, has been eating the same thing before every game: a chicken shawarma with lettuce, tomato, pickle, cucumber, cheddar cheese, tzatziki and ranch sauce.

“It’s always the same. It’s always got to be that,” he said.

Three hours before game time, he gets taped the same way, by the same trainer.

“It makes me comfortable. It makes me relaxed. It gets me in the right mindset, he said.

Other players adhere to their own individual rituals, putting on their shoes and socks in exactly the same order, or listening to the same music on their headphones. Some even refuse to wash their clothing between games.

“Everybody has their same silly little superstitions,” says kicking coach Dana Segin. “Everybody says they keep things in check and keep things the same. We’re creatures of habit.”

Others, including the coaching staff, indulge in a group sandwich ritual, chowing down on sammies from Bonanza Bakery near Barton and Catharine streets, just as they did last year, when they had a load of Italian cold cut specials flown to Vancouver.

The entire team still taps the plaque on the way out of the locker room, the one that says “Play with Pride.” They even take the plaque on the road.

When the game can get as close as it did last year, every little bit can help.

“Superstition and chance, we know, are a big part of football, and on any given day, anyone can win,” said head coach Stefan Ptaszek.  “We try to get ourselves prepared, because we believe the harder you work, the luckier you get.”