The secret to Michael Jordan’s basketball success lay not in the aerodynamics of his well-shaven head or the springiness of his signature Air Jordan sneakers — it was all in the shorts. As a cultural geography major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jordan led his college’s basketball team, the Tar Heels, to win the NCAA Championship game in 1982. Hoping to channel his collegiate karma, His Airness wore a pair of his UNC shorts under his longer, baggier Bulls shorts for all of his NBA games.
Top 10 Sports Superstitions
From the playoff beard to lucky shorts, sport stars are fond of using of unconventional measures to ensure their team's success in the big game. As the 2011 World Series kicks off, TIME takes a look at superstitions that have become intertwined with the wide world of sports