The NHL playoffs feature the Granddaddy of all beard superstitions.

The Sixers once wore black sneakers. Some teams refuse to talk to reporters. Some competitors have been known for the unusual practice of leaving their playing shoes at a teammate’s house and not touch them until right before the start of the game.

Whatever the ritual, it is all done in the spirit of winning a championship.

The Eagles defense last week started a pledge to each other not to shave for the duration of the season.

Defensive leader Brian Dawkins said it was an idea he thought of a few weeks ago as an effort to produce camaraderie and have a few laughs.

“It’s just a little something we decided to do as a team,” Dawkins said as he and his teammates prepared to meet the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football.

“It’s not just the defense, it’s whoever wanted to join in and do it. For me, the reason that I decided to do it is it’s just a reminder every time that I get up and every time that I look in the mirror and every time this thing itches you, it reminds me what’s going on right now and it makes me think about the task at hand and that’s the run we’re trying to make.”

The Granddaddy of all beard superstitions lies in the NHL.

Every year, virtually every player in the playoffs does not shave until his team is eliminated.

Dawkins said the Birds beard effort was sincere but should not be compared to their cousins on ice.

“That’s on another level, there,” Dawkins said. “Those guys are on another level. We’re not quite to that point. Like I said, it’s a fun thing and also a camaraderie thing. For me, it was really a scruffy, down to business, every time I think about it, every time I see it in the mirror, I’m thinking about why I’m doing it. And, that’s because of the push we’re on.”

The push continues Monday night.

If the Eagles (7-5-1) can defeat the struggling Browns (4-9), and the Atlanta Falcons (8-5) lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-4), the Eagles can control their playoff future by beating the Washington Redskins (7-6) and Dallas Cowboys (8-5) the final two weeks of the season.

If that was not enough inspiration for the future Hall of Famer, when Dawkins walks onto the field Monday, he will become the all-time leader in games played by and Eagle, breaking the record set by former Pro Bowl receiver Harold Carmichael, who currently works for the Eagles.

Dawkins said all that stuff is great but there is still a task at hand. Winning games and making the playoffs.

“Guess what? When I step on the field, I won’t be thinking about that at all,” Dawkins said. “I’ll be thinking about the Browns. I’ll think about everything I need to think about with this team and what they’re going to bring with the receivers they have. I don’t know what’s going on with [TE] Kellen [Winslow], but if he plays, he’s one of the best tight ends in the game and one of the best receivers in the game.

“(I’ll be thinking about) the running back (Jamal Lewis) who can get it going at any given moment and start chewing up yards on you. We have our work cut out. All these things we just discussed about the beard, about the mustache, about the career–all that stuff means nothing if we don’t go out and play ball against a team who, you out there might be looking past, but we have no room for that.”

Dawkins, however, did invite everyone–Eagles players and staff, the media, all the fans–to join in.

Dawkins said he even asked head coach Andy Reid, but was not sure if Big Red would join his players and grow a beard for good luck.

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” Dawkins said. “We’ll see if he wants to join in. We welcome all comers.”

 Al Thompson can be reached at al.thompson@footballstories.com.