Friday the 13th

The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia, a combination of two words – the Norse goddess Frigga (where Friday came from) and triskaidekaphobia or the fear of the number 13. For some reason, a lot of people harbor this fear or believe in this superstition, refusing to travel, make major business decisions or start projects on that day. Surely, they can’t be blamed for skirting the day and risking a brush against Lady Luck when all it takes is a bit of prudence and patience.

This year, there are three Fridays the 13th in the calendar – January, April and July. A disaster took place last Jan. 13, a Friday, when the luxury ship Costa Concordia sank near the island of Isola del Giglio, killing at least 16 and injuring 64. There have been only seven years since 1860 when three Fridays the 13th occurred in 12 months and this year was the first since 1984. The three Fridays the 13th happen only during a leap year.

On Oct. 13, 1972, a Friday, a chartered airplane with a Uruguay rugby team on board crashed into the Andes mountains, leaving 29 of 45 passengers dead. That same day, an Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 flight from Leningrad to Moscow plunged into a pond four miles from the airport, killing all 176 passengers. Was it coincidental or an act of fate that two disasters took place on the same Friday the 13th?

Today, the US Navy still doesn’t launch a ship on Friday the 13th and in the 1800s, Lloyds of London wouldn’t insure a ship that sets sail on Friday the 13th. Skyscrapers and buildings often don’t recognize a 13th floor. Crowds don’t gather for a meal if they’re 13, fearing that one of them will die soon, presumably in deference to the Last Supper with Jesus and the 12 Apostles. Besides, Jesus died on a Friday.

History lists several other tragic events on Friday the 13th including the 1970 flood that killed over a million people and a storm that claimed over 300,000 lives in Bangladesh, the 1989 stock market crash, the 1940 bombing of Buckingham Palace and the destruction of the Palace chapel and the 1996 death of Tupac Shakur.

But Friday the 13th can’t be all that bad. Milton Hershey was born on Sept. 13, 1857, a Friday, and we still love him for creating Hersheys chocolates. Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner” on Sept. 13, 1814, a Friday and Americans will forever be grateful. On Friday the 13th in 1984, Pete Rose smacked his 4,000th hit and marked a milestone in his baseball career. On Feb. 13, 1948, a Friday, Dick Button won the gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championships in Davos, Switzerland and on Feb. 13, 1976, a Friday, Dorothy Hamill captured the gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, with Button covering the event as a TV broadcaster.

NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain wore No. 13 as did Mark Jackson and Luc Longley and they enjoyed long basketball careers. Today, Steve Nash, Joakim Noah, Mike Miller, Luke Ridnour, James Harden and Delonte West are among NBA cagers wearing No. 13 fearlessly.

In the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, B-Meg and Barangay Ginebra slug it out in Game 2 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight. Which team will be haunted by bad luck on Friday the 13th?

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Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi said the other day Talk ‘N’ Text guard Jayson Castro is a player he’d like for the Energy. “I nurtured Jayson at PCU (Philippine Christian University) where I coached for a year and took the team to the NCAA finals against Letran,” said Baculi. “Jayson’s teammates included Gabby Espinas and Beau Belga. I also coached Jayson at Hapee which had a PCU tie-up in the PBL and was a consultant with Harbour Centre where Jayson was a star.”

Castro is now leading the charge for the Texters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series against Barako.

“I have mixed emotions now that I’m coaching against him,” continued Baculi. “I’m happy that he has improved so much. Before, his outside shooting was suspect, now he’s deadly from three-point range. Before, he was erratic, now he knows what to do with the ball. My wish is for him to win honors in the regular season not just in the playoffs. I wish he could be playing for us but unfortunately, he’s not. I don’t think there’s a quicker player in the PBA and Jayson has become a wily player, too.”

Castro’s father is Ronald William, an American. The Texters guard uses his mother Rosario’s surname Castro, not William. Coincidentally, Texters teammate Kelly Williams’ mother is Andrea Castro of Cebu. Their mothers are both Castros but unrelated. One father is Curtis Williams and the other is Ronald William. How uncanny that Williams from Detroit and Castro from Pampanga have crossed paths as teammates in the PBA.