By: Ryan Wooley

It seems that every year when a team wins a championship that some strange superstition or motivational tactic is revealed and we learn of a player that refused to change his socks, wash his undershirt or even untie his shoes because they thought it helped them win a game.

We’ve also seen players get tattoos like Jason Terry who had a picture of the Larry O’Brien trophy put on his arm, which some thought would prove to be a jinx but ultimately proved to be the perfect motivational tool for Dallas, as they defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.

Well with the Heat the newly crowned NBA Champions, a new motivational tool has been brought to everyone’s attention and I have to say it was a very well crafted idea by head coach Erik Spoelstra.

Prior to the NBA playoffs starting, Spoelstra had a replica Larry O’Brien trophy made out of rubber and presented it to the team before game one against the Knicks. The point of the trophy was to try and motivate his team to go and get the real thing and also symbolize the pact they made to play together.

Each player signed the black rubber replica in a gold marker which also had the team’s mottos written all over it, and then they would add a notch to it every time they picked up a win. The secret was actually so well kept that even team president Pat Riley didn’t know about it until Spoelstra made the announcement last week.

Some may say that the idea seems childish, but I say it was a job well done by a head coach whose seat was getting hotter and hotter by the minute.

Perhaps Jim Leyland could take a page out of Spoelstra’s book and maybe make a replica World Series trophy so the Tigers can actually find a way to start playing as a team.

Or even Jim Schwartz could make a Vince Lombardi replica to help the Lions pick up their second playoff win in franchise history. It couldn’t hurt right?

Follow Ryan Wooley on Twitter @WooleyMammoth85