I was in the den writing when I heard a scream from the other room.

“Aargh! No, no. It can’t be happening,” yells my oldest son.

What? What happened? I ask. I walk out to the family room and find him sitting on his hands and staring intensely at the TV. With a quick jerk he is up, pacing in front of the TV, dropping his head into his hands.

“This can’t be the end,” he says. “No, no, they tied it up. This can’t be happening.”

It’s the Stanley Cup playoffs in our home and our son is at the brink of a meltdown. We are from Hockeytown (yep, Hockeytown is the copyrighted nickname for Detroit), so we worship the Detroit Red Wings. They are supposed to win the Stanley Cup this year (as they should every year), but first they have to make it through the playoffs. And that is a nail biting, stressful process, full of child-like superstitions that my son actually has me buying into.

Our son started watching the game while sitting in the big, brown chair in the family room. Between periods he was at the computer working on a social studies project, but he always found his way back to the chair just in time for the next period to start.

Why? Because Detroit was winning 2-0 at the end of the second period.

So? So the Theory of Victory credits our son for this lead because he happened to be sitting in the big, brown chair in the family room at the time the lead occurred.

This reasoning comes from the boy who, at a mere seven years-old, wouldn’t let me wash his hockey jersey during his own playoff and championship games.

During the first two periods I was in the den working, listening to the game from a distance. At the beginning of the third period, however, I moved to the kitchen counter where I could work on my laptop while watching the game.

I’ll admit, it didn’t feel right, me sitting at the kitchen counter watching the game. That’s not where I was when the game started and old-time superstition started gnawing at me. When Edmonton scored to take a 3-2 lead I decided to tip-toe back into the den.

“I think I’ll go back to where I came from,” I said sheepishly to my son.

“Yeah, Mom, I think you better. They were winning until you came out here.”

Theory of Victory states when a team is winning everything must stay the same. If you were drinking Pepsi while eating Cheetos and wearing a blue fleece, then that is what you do the entire game.

If you were sitting in a big, brown chair at the beginning of the game, you stay there until the game is over – unless, of course, the team starts playing better when you move to the couch.

And, if you were listening to the game while working on the computer two rooms away, that is where you stay. Consistency is important during a hockey game, even more so during a playoff series.

If this theory holds true, and my son insists it does, then it is my fault the Detroit Red Wings lost the series and is now officially done with the season.

Wow, that’s a heavy burden for a mother to live with.