I live in Colorado and went to my first ski lesson at about 6 yrs old. My brother told me about the chair lifts -- that you "jump off" when you get to where you're going. I thought he meant you jumped from the chair wherever you wanted on the hill. I was positively terrified going to my lesson, sure I would die from a the fall from 30 feet up. I was very relieved when the instructor told me you "jump off" at the top, when you skis touch the ground again.

Kim

when i was little i thought that all sports balls had evil spirits inside them. if i turned a corner and say a ping pong ball was in the center or the floor, my superstitious mind would convince me that something terrible was about to happen.

shasta, ky

I used to use the phrase hockey puck for coffee cup and hockey sack for pocketbook. I don't ever remember watching or hearing about hockey......strange.

Patty, NY

My sister used to think that the "Best and Fairest" award in Australian Football (ie: the best player of the season) was awarded to the player with the blondest hair.

Hayley

I grew up in Boston, and one time when I went to a Red Sox game with my parents, I asked them if we could go sit out in the bleachers. They said no because people "smoke pot" there. So, I though if we went to the bleachers, everyone would be sitting there holding smoking pots.

Chris from California

As a child, I would see football games on TV and wonder how the players got such large shoulders. They seemed like Hulks to me. It was not until I saw a player remove his jersey, a few years later, that I discovered the truth. Shoulder pads!!! Whew!!!

Mike

I grew up in Berkeley, California a fan of the University of California Golden Bears football and basketball teams. My father told me that Golden Bears used to exist and the last one was shot by a Russian hunter on the eventual site of the Cal football stadium is today. Into my early teen years I believed that bears with golden colored fur once roamed Northern California.

Richard

When I was little, I used to believe that American football players had really huge shoulders. I was shocked to discover they wore shoulder pads.

Peace Monkey

When I was little, my dad told me that football was the game of god(he didn't mean it ,he just loved football).For years after ward I thought the winners went to heaven and the losers went to hell.

Harrison

You know how when you were at school sometimes the "1st Team" of whatever sport would play against the Coaches and former pupils etc etc? (i.e. The current best team verus the best previously)

As a child and not the biggest football (soccer) fan I used to think that Newcastle were a team of referees (and of course the referees had to be the best in order to judge the game in the first place!). This was mainly due to their black and white kit of course.

I still don't know anything about football.......

Viscont Che Cubin

At about age 7 I firmly believed I was going to be a world champion tennis player and no one was going to beat me. I don't play tennis anymore.

Lex

When I was 4 I ran in my first race in honour of the Queen at our local silver jubilee party,all was going well I was in front until I got to the tape and stopped then everyone ran past me through the tape and I was last they gave me a threepnee bit (dull old money when your 4)whilst the winner got 15p!Nobody told me you had to run through the bloody string!

loser

Can't believe no one put this already, since it was common knowledge among all my friends. I used to believe that the core of a golf ball was a highly toxic poison that would kill you.

Anon

Before I was old enough to read "big books" I thought that the Hunchback of Notre Dame was a football coach who was physically challenged.

Lou

I use to think golf courses were called "golf courts." My dad went on jury duty once and my mom told me he was going to court. I thought that meant he was staying out of work to go play golf.

Anon

I used to believe that certain babies were born with extremely huge shoulders.
These babies were sent to "training camp" (which is why you never saw them on the street as children and when they grew up the became professional football players.

Jane