# Origin of "The Wave"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-wave/125885>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 28, 2002, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-wave/125885 "2002-08-28T03:06:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Church\_Key\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Church\_Key\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Church_Key_Kid)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-wave/125885/1 "2002-08-28T03:06:15Z")

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Anybody know the origin of “The Wave”, where everybody stands up in turn at sporting events to make a big “wave” that rolls around the stadium?

Who started it? When is the first recorded instance of it?

And why do people keep doing it?

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**Author:** ![g8rguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@g8rguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/g8rguy)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-wave/125885/2 "2002-08-28T03:12:05Z")

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No cite, but I’m pretty sure it started at the University of Washington back quite a while ago (70’s, maybe?). Now we can wait for someone who either (a) knows or (b) has the patience to do a websearch on “the wave” to provide the definitive answer… 🙂

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**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-wave/125885/3 "2002-08-28T03:36:33Z")

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Discussion [here](http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-21439,00.html) that supports theory that it originated in US football games in 1981. Even a few claimants to the title of inventor