Why is it bad luck to touch the Prince of Wales trophy?

Question

I think it is due to the fact they only want the Stanley cup and nothing else but in other sports they do it...

Congrats to Pittsburgh and once again the captain didn't touch the trophy but i don't understand why people think it is such a big thing. Is it just tradition?

Answer 1

WOW you must be as old as me to call it the Prince of Whales trophy...is it still called that

and yes Congrats to Pittsburgh for the great season and post season they have had .....great for Pittsburgh and great for the NHL

And    Sweety Singh is right...i have crossed the paths of many g**s (i lived outside of Wiltons corner) yet i have not yet turned g*y

Answer 2

As far as I know, Eric Lindros was the first to not touch the Wales Trophy (1997).  Steve Yzerman touched the Clarence Campbell Bowl that same year (and as far as I know, always did when he was presented with it) and swept the Flyers away.  (I can't stand it when players don't touch it; I don't think they should be going crazy with it, but they ought to at least feel confident enough that they are capable of winning and engaging in some mild celebration on the way to the Cup.)  Besides, Scott Stevens always touched it (3 out of 4 Cup Finals ain't bad), Mark Messier always touched it, Mario Lemieux even skated around with it a little bit in 1991.  And, hey, what happens if neither team touches their conference championship trophy?  Thus, it isn't bad luck to touch it, it's just a load of BS (coming from an embittered Oiler fan who still wishes Jason Smith picked it up - no, I'll never get over it).

(To answer khoff, at the very end of the YouTube video "Red Wings Vs. Avalanche 1997 Game 6", you can see Yzerman take hold of the Clarence Campbell Bowl.  I haven't found any visual from 1998, but since he took it in 2002 (http://www.jamd.com/search?assettype=g&a... I think it's safe to assume he took it in 1998.  (Sorry for being so anal-retentive, but it's a petty topic I get worked up about)

Answer 3

It's a superstition which is part of NHL tradition.  It's tradition that it's bad luck.  So it's either superstition or respect for tradition.

And, yes, it is still called the Prince of Wales trophy

Answer 4

its about being in the right state of mind and anything against the tradition might what it takes to throw a player or team of its element. In essence it just proves how much people still believe in superstitons and how seriously they take it.

Answer 5

Superstition, a number of captains (and others) have touched it and lost the Stanley Cup finals. Ottawa's Alfredsson did last year, Anaheim did not. But players have touched it and still won. Tradition too.

Answer 6

The same reason its bad luck to touch the President's Trophy.

Players don't want those c**p trophies...all the want is the cup.

Answer 7

It is just part of the traditions.  Recently teams that half touched the trophy went on to lose the Stanley Cup finals.  You can find a lot more interesting info at my source

Answer 8

It's just superstitions. The same questions can be asked about any superstition. Why do people say crossing black cats or walking under ladders is bad luck? Just because they are superstitious.

Answer 9

You're wrong skeeball.  Yzerman and the wings had a big celebration in '95 when they won the Campbell Bowl over Chicago... they then went on to get swept by Jersey in the finals.  After that, everytime the Wings won the Western Conference (97,98 and 02) Yzerman would go out, get his picture taken, but never touched or picked up the trophy.  I'm sure it'd been done before Yzerman and the wings in '97, but that is where my memory of the superstition begins.

Answer to Skee:

Sorry, you're right, I stand corrected.  Yzerman did touch and pick up the Campbell bowl.  Here he is in '98:  http://www.detroithockey.net/multimedia/...

However, in '95 after they beat Chicago in OT to win the Western Coneference and advance to the finals for the first time in close to 30 years, they had a big celebration including taking their photo with the bowl.  They then were swept in the finals by the Devils.  Then the next year they set the NHL record for wins in the regular season before being knocked out in the conference finals by the Avs.  After that, the wings no longer celebrated accomplishments (conference championships, presidents trophys) in the same manner.  I can just about guarantee that Yzerman immediately set the Campbell Bowl back down in 97,98 and 02... he definitely didn't parade it around or take a team picture.  I definitely remember them talking about the superstition at the time.

Answer 10

It is a little bit tradition, a little bit superstition..........if players are going to predict the outcome of a final series on whether or not they touch the conference trophies, I think there is something wrong somewhere!!!!!!!!

Answer 11

Because that means you are happy JUST winning the Prince of Wales trophy.  

I can not remember which team, but in the early 90's, a player took the Prince of Wales trophy and skated around the rink like it was the Stanley Cup.  They lost in 4.

Answer 12

superstition. you touch it/hoist it your team will lose. alfie touched it for the sens, spezza didn't but the end all was the sens lost to the ducks in 07...and that was a true curse...really they get sun more than ottawa gets sunlight in any given year.

"Once awarded, the deputy commissioner, currently Bill Daly, would present the trophy to the winning team's captain. However, a traditional superstition that is prevalent among many of today's NHL players is that no player should either touch or hoist the Wales Trophy (or the Western Conference's trophy, the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl) when they have won the conference playoffs as the Eastern Conference champions. Players feel that the Stanley Cup is the only true championship trophy and thus it should be the only trophy that should be hoisted."

(yahoo's having some problems, and won't let me link this. it's from wiki)

and people try to reason that in other sports teams hoist their conference championship trophies, well hockey isn't all other sports. if you believe in something it'll happen. hockey players are a superstitious bunch.

lol about the jason smith comment, and the skeeball guy is right. some players don't buy into the curse, and they touch the trophy all the time. i also always called it the prince of wales trophy...i didn't know there's another name for it.

Answer 13

just a superstition

Answer 14

It's a silly created hockey superstition.  Usually both teams don't touch their conference championship trophy (which you have to win to get to the Finals) and one team losses in the finals, yet it doesn't mean they start touching it next year.

All other sports enjoy the fact that they made it to the finals (NCAA celebrates making the final four).  Hockey players just created this superstition that the fans (for the most part) embrace.... I am NOT one of them.