What if sports fans’ superstitions really worked?  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
OK sports fans – own up. How many of you have got some weird superstition that you follow whenever your team is playing that you’re sure brings them luck?
Maybe you insist on sitting in the same place to watch the match, whether that’s in the stadium or at home watching on TV, or maybe you just have to wear your lucky t-shirt, socks or even underpants!
Sports fans all around the world have similar rituals designed to give their teams the edge. Eating the same food before and/or during the game is common, as is listening to the same song you were listening to before your team’s last victory. Some fans will only enter the stadium through a certain entrance or turnstile, having of course travelled there via the correct route, and others believe that their team is bound to score the second they leave the room to go to the toilet!
And is there any evidence that any of these rituals makes one tiny bit of difference? Of course there isn’t. But what if they did work? What if you discovered something that actually did make your team lucky and helped it to win?
That’s what happens to Danny, the eleven-year-old hero of Danny Mann Super Fan – the new book from British children’s novelist Ian Slatter.
“Danny supports a small, lower league English football team that’s having a dreadful season,” explains Slatter. “They’ve been incredibly unlucky all year, until Danny and his best friend stumble upon a bizarre pre-match ritual that turns that on its head. His team suddenly starts getting all the luck and starts winning again.”
Slatter admits that he’s no stranger to sporting superstitions himself. “We’ve all done it,” he says, “whether it’s sitting in the same place to watch the game or wearing the same clothes. I’ve tried wearing the same t-shirt after my team has had a good win, but it’s never worked for me. Maybe I shouldn’t have washed it in between matches! I love the idea though that you could actually find something that would turn your favourite team’s fortunes around. That’s where the idea for the book came from.”
It’s not all plain sailing for Danny once he discovers his lucky ritual though, as he starts to find more and more things getting in his way to make it difficult for him to do everything right before each match, and he’s also struggling to cope with the bullying he gets at school for supporting an uncool team. “It’s tough for Danny,” admits Slatter, “but he’s determined to do everything he can to save their season, as he thinks he’s the only one who stands between them and relegation. That’s a lot for an eleven-year-old to deal with!”
Danny Mann Super Fan is available on all leading ebook platforms (Kindle, Nook, Kobo & Apple Books) and as a paperback (Amazon) from 9th May 2021.
Ian Slatter is a British author of middle grade children’s books. His first novel, Eco Worrier, was published in 2020. He has also written two non-fiction books on the subject of sport. Find out more at Ianslatter.com or twitter.com/slatter_ian
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