# National Anthem at sporting events **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545 "2009-02-19T13:44:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/1 "2009-02-19T13:44:25Z")
I suppose this could have gone to games but I’ll try it here. I think this is the pattern. The Baltimore Orioles are sometimes just referred to as the “O’s”. Fans there have developed the habit of loudly singing only the “oh” in the line “Oh say can you see”. I’ve heard that a smilar thing happens with “Brave” at Atlanta baseball games. I’ve heard at other events (Viginia Tech football, Washington Caps hockey) the fans also do the loud “Oh”. I guess my first question is if my theory of why the loud “Oh” is correct? If so, does that mean that people at those other events just heard it and misunderstood the meaning and now just look like idiots when they sing “Oh” at a Redskins game, etc? ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/2 "2009-02-19T14:23:57Z")
No ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/3 "2009-02-19T17:58:16Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > No Thank you! Anyone know if there is a reason for singing along with just the one word? How widespread is this? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/4 "2009-02-19T18:37:45Z")
Weirdly, [someone else](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=502107) asked this question about a month ago. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/5 "2009-02-19T18:49:06Z")
At football games in Berkeley (University of California), the student section emphasizes “oh say can **UC** ”. They also insert “BLUE!” after “red glare”, red being the color of hated rival Stanford. ---
**Author:** ![Piker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@Piker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Piker)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/6 "2009-02-19T18:53:39Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > I suppose this could have gone to games but I’ll try it here. > > I think this is the pattern. The Baltimore Orioles are sometimes just referred to as the “O’s”. Fans there have developed the habit of loudly singing only the “oh” in the line “Oh say can you see”. I’ve heard that a smilar thing happens with “Brave” at Atlanta baseball games. > > I’ve heard at other events (Viginia Tech football, Washington Caps hockey) the fans also do the loud “Oh”. > > I guess my first question is if my theory of why the loud “Oh” is correct? If so, does that mean that people at those other events just heard it and misunderstood the meaning and now just look like idiots when they sing “Oh” at a Redskins game, etc? Singing the loud “oh” now safely qualifies as a Baltimore/Washington area tradition. In the years between the Colts and Senators moving out and the Ravens and Nationals coming in, Baltimore and Washington had a shared sporting identity. Hell, even the Washington Wizards were once the Baltimore Bullets. I am pretty sure the people singing “oh” at the Redskins and Capitals games know its Orioles origins. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/7 "2009-02-19T19:06:27Z")
The Lynah Faithful emphasize the “red” for the Cornell Big Red hockey team. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/8 "2009-02-19T22:58:18Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > The Lynah Faithful emphasize the “red” for the Cornell Big Red hockey team. I’m graduated nearly 15 years and I still have to think about it not to do it. Which gives some context to why some still emphasize the “Oh!” during Nats games. But don’t worry – when I see someone do it I give 'em a look. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/9 "2009-02-20T13:22:53Z")
At the Dallas Stars hockey games, the whole arena says “STARS!” the two times it comes up in the national anthem. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-anthem-at-sporting-events/486545/10 "2009-02-20T13:28:10Z")
My brother went to UND, and apparently the tradition there is to sing the last line of the National Anthem as “and the home of the Sioux.” He’s done it for years.