The 10 Funniest Pregame Rituals

Alexander Ovechkin recently admitted to a Russian TV station that it helps his play to have sex before games. Well, before and after according to the NHL's reigning MVP.

Obviously, you can't fault the man for the results his unusual pregame routine gets. Some players go through much more tedious regiments before games, and none of them are as inherently awesome as having sex.

To honor Ovechkin's awesomeness, let's take a look at some of the more humorous pregame routines. Here are The 10 Funniest Pregame Rituals.

Wade Boggs

Wade Boggs had the unusual routine of eating chicken before every game. Now, I understand that protein is a good thing to have before playing, but I would want to switch it up every once in a while.

It's not like Boggs played football, where he would have a chicken meal 16 times a year. He played 162 games a year. That's a lot of poultry.

Chicken must go really well with all that beer he was drinking.

Laurent Blanc

In the 1998 World Cup, France's Lauren Blanc would find his goal keeper, Fabian Barthez, and give him a nice big smooch on the top of his bald head.

How this started and why Barthez allowed it, we'll never know, but apparently it worked wonders. France beat a very talented Brazil team to take home the World Cup.

As you can see from the picture, it wasn't just a peck on the noggin, it was a full blown embrace. I would need dinner and a movie before I let someone kiss my head like that.

Bruce Gardiner

After going a few games without scoring, Ottawa's Bruce Gardiner was desperate for any sort of edge. His teammate, Tom Chorske, told him Gardiner that he was treating his stick too well and needed to show it a little humility by dunking it in the toilet.

Apparently, that worked, and Gardiner would dunk his stick in the toilet before every game from that point on.

I tried the same approach with basketball, but the other players, coaches, and referees started getting upset about it. They were probably scared I would get too dominant. Yeah, that's it.

Ray Allen

Have you ever watched Ray Allen play and thought to yourself, "Wow, his head sure is smooth and shiny"? I know I have. There is a reason for that.

See, Allen has a fairly strict pregame routine. Nap from 11:30 am until 1 pm, a meal of chicken and rice at 2:30pm, then he will shave his head and walk out onto the court at exactly 4:30pm. If any part of that gets messed up, Allen is not a happy camper.

It's no coincidence that OCD rhymes with "Shoot the three." Actually, it is just a coincidence, but the man can sure knock down a jumper.

John Henderson

Aside from Ovechkin, the Jacksonville Jaguars' John Henderson may have the most awesome pregame ritual ever.

He has a trainer slap him as hard as they can.

Just watch the video below and see Henderson get worked up into a raving lunatic. I would not want to play against this guy after watching this video.

Come to think of it, I'm not even sure I'd want to be the trainer in the video. I'd be scared the guy would kill me. But watching it from the comfort of my computer, it's completely awesome.

Dwight Howard

No, I'm not talking about Dwight Howard's pregame halfcourt shot, I'm talking about what he does in the privacy of his own locker room.

I'm sure other players have the same routine, but Howard is the only one I know of that let the world in on his secret.

Before each game, Howard "sits on the throne of grace," as he calls it. He "releases all of the bad stuff" from his body, so that when he plays "only the good stuff comes out."

Thanks for sharing, Dwight. No, really. I'll have no problem getting that out of my head.

Brian Dawkins

Athletes play at such a high level of intensity all the time, it's only logical that many of them have some pretty unique routines to get them into that mindset.

Brian Dawkins plays like a man possessed, and when you see the way he psychs himself up, you can see why.

Dawkins will stalk the end zone before a game, pacing back and forth, not talking to anybody. Well, anybody except for the ball. That's right, Dawkins has an intense one-on-one session with a football before the game to get himself, and the football, ready to go.

The funny thing is that the football actually finds him really annoying.

Jason Terry

Everybody knows about Michael Jordan wearing his UNC shorts under his Bulls shorts when he played in the NBA, but Jason Terry has a much stranger routine.

The night before he plays a game, Terry sleeps in the shorts of his opponent the next day. He has somehow procured shorts from every other team in the league and will wear them to bed.

I don't know if he feels like it will give him his opponent's power or something, but he has proven himself to be one of the most reliable players in the league, so I think we can say it's worked out for him.

As long as he doesn't start wearing opponents underwear, I think we'll be okay.

Jason Giambi

Speaking of underwear, Jason Giambi has admitted that when he is in a slump, he will put on a gold thong before the game and wear it while he plays.

Now, this may not be an "every day" ritual, but judging from Giambi's career with the Yankees, he was probably wearing a thong more often than not.

Yep, Dwight, your mental image has officially been replaced by a worse one. Terrific.

Brian Urlacher

Urlacher is one of the most feared defensive players in the NFL, but his pregame routine is decidedly less intense than that of Henderson or Dawkins.

Brian Urlacher eats two chocolate chip cookies before every game. That's it. Just two. No more, no less.

How he has escaped the nickname "The Cookie Monster of the Midway" is a mystery to me.