The Adorable Good Luck Charm HGTV's Ben Napier Is Incredibly Superstitious About
Erin and Ben Napier have shared some pretty cute couple moments over the years, but the HGTV duo never fails to share new, heartwarming tidbits about their life together. In an interview with Southern Living's Biscuits & Jam podcast, "Home Town" host Erin revealed an adorable fact about her husband, sharing that he keeps a special good luck charm on his nightstand.
"It's like 20 books, broken screws, keys to something — no one knows to what — and the Duke University pencils [that] he's very superstitious about," the Mississippi native said. "If he's going to use a pencil, it must be a Duke University pencil because that's what he did in high school when he would make the best grades on his test. It [would] be the Duke pencils."
While the luckiness of Ben's Duke University pencils might relate to his high school grades, their significance can also be traced back to his extensive love for the advertised college. Not only have he and his family been long-time fans, but they also got to participate in a particularly special experience.
Ben and his family have a love for Duke University
Though Ben Napier ended up attending college in Mississippi, where he first met his wife, Erin, the HGTV host originally had dreams of playing college basketball at Duke University. In this way, while his Duke pencils may have served as a special good luck charm in the past, they also have a special significance to his childhood dreams.
"I was going to be a professional basketball player," he told Mississippi Today, with Erin mentioning that he wanted to play at Duke. "My dad went to Duke. He went to Divinity School there and we're all huge fans." As mentioned, Ben didn't end up making it to Duke, attributing this lightheartedly to his grades and not his lack of basketball skills. While we would've loved to see Ben as a college sports star, we think everything might've worked out for the best. After all, his Mississippi studies did lead to his heartwarming love story with Erin.
The Napiers had a special Duke experience
Ben Napier's Duke University pencils must be a true good luck charm, because the HGTV star had a super special Duke experience back in February 2022. The "Home Town: Ben's Woodshop" host and his family were able to attend one of basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski's final home games. The record-breaking coach, known as Coach K, led Duke's basketball team through 42 seasons before retiring in 2022.
Ben took to Instagram to share this experience, featuring photos of him and his family on the empty basketball court and in the roaring crowd. "Well, this weekend was a dream ... Jon Jackson and the basketball program secured us tickets for one of Coach K's last home games," Napier captioned his post. "I owe the entire basketball staff a huge thank you. They welcomed my dad, my brothers, and myself with open arms. We got to tour the facilities, talk with a lot of the staff, watch the game, go to the press conference, and even meet the legend himself." With all these experiences in mind, we don't blame Ben for keeping his Duke pencils close by.