Jordan Mailata’s strange barefoot habit revealed
Jordan Mailata has revealed his seriously strange pre-game routine while declaring he has some changes to make for the Super Bowl.
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Former Rabbitoh Jordan Mailata is about to make Australian sporting history when he steps out for Super Bowl LVII for the Philadelphia Eagles, and he’s carrying a secret taken from Freddy Fittler and the NSW Blues.
Mailata this week revealed his game day superstitions.
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“I have a barefoot routine before every game to kind of ground me,’’ he said.
“I might wear socks this time because there will be about 50,000 cameras out there.
“I do that to ground me.
“I listen to the same song over and over again.
“Don’t ask me what song it is, because I’m not going to tell you.
“I’m very superstitious.
“On game day, I’ve got to eat the same breakfast, sit on the same bus — left-hand side of the bus.’’
The ritual was made famous by Fittler’s NSW side, who engage in what they call “barefoot visualisation”, as it is put by head of performance Hayden Knowles.
“It’s a habit of very successful athletes,” says Hayden Knowles.
“The best in the game do that.
“It’s focus time.”
Because he’s so new to the game, Mailata isn’t someone who has been dreaming about playing in a Super Bowl since he was a kid.
“To me, the Super Bowl dream only started four or five years ago,’’ he said.
“For my fellow teammates, it’s different.
“They’ve been dreaming about this since they were little kids, since they were running around in nappies.
“If you don’t know what a nappy is, look it up.
“You guys call them diapers, or pampers.’’
Just six years ago, the 6-foot-9 Mailata was working in a supermarket and other odd jobs to help pay his bills.
The 25-year-old is in his third season with the Eagles, playing all 16 games for the first time this year.
The team moved up from No. 250 to 233 in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft to select Mailata.
He is one of the Super Bowl’s most talented players, having also appeared on “The Masked Singer.”
Now fans will have to see if he modifies his very specific pregame routine with the Eagles looking to take down the Chiefs in Arizona on Sunday.
- with New York Post
Originally published as Jordan Mailata’s strange barefoot habit revealed
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