# ...still there, Oh!....\[question about National Anthem in Baltimore\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615 "2009-01-16T16:38:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/1 "2009-01-16T16:38:41Z")
I have no idea why I thought of this now. In the late 80s I attended the University of Maryland. At every sporting event during the National Anthem the Baltimorons would shout _STILL THERE, OH!_ at the appropriate time in the song. Just those words, the rest was normal. This was not a school thing. It was apparently something to do with Baltimore or the Orioles. I never got any explainations as to why they did this. My best guess was that the Colts were gone but the Os were still there or something. I have no idea if I am right or if they still do this in Maryland. It was not an isolated incident. It happened everytime. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/2 "2009-01-16T16:54:27Z")
WAG - Does it have anything to do with Fort McHenry (where the National Anthem was born) being in Baltimore? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/3 "2009-01-16T16:56:15Z")
I can only say it was sports related in some way. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/4 "2009-01-16T16:56:44Z")
Edited title for clarity. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/5 "2009-01-16T17:02:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It was apparently something to do with Baltimore or the Orioles. When I lived in Washington DC in the late 80s/early 90s I often went to Orioles games. I never noticed an emphasis on “still there,” but in the next line “Oh” was sung as “O’s”, clearly to signify the Orioles. I’m sure if they did that at the University of Maryland it was because of Orioles fans attending the game. I understand that likewise in Atlanta they sing the last line as “…home of the Braves.” ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/6 "2009-01-16T17:06:36Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I never noticed an emphasis on “still there,” but in the next line “Oh” was sung as “O’s”, clearly to signify the Orioles. I’m sure if they did that at the University of Maryland it was because of Orioles fans attending the game. Me, too. There’s a fair number of people who now attend Washington Nationals games that also emphasize the “OH! say does that star spangled banner…” because we DCites used to go to Orioles games. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/7 "2009-01-16T17:10:51Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > When I lived in Washington DC in the late 80s/early 90s I often went to Orioles games. I never noticed an emphasis on “still there,” but in the next line “Oh” was sung as “O’s”, clearly to signify the Orioles. I’m sure if they did that at the University of Maryland it was because of Orioles fans attending the game. > > I understand that likewise in Atlanta they sing the last line as “…home of the Braves.” It wasn’t an emphasis, it was a full out yell. As in mumble mumble through the lyrics STILL THERE, OH mumble mumble. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/8 "2009-01-16T17:30:21Z")
It was started by a legendary Orioles fan, “Wild Bill” Hagey, sometime in the 1960s or 1970s. He started out small, just screaming out O-R-I-O-L-E-S and leading cheers. Then one day he noticed, I guess, that there is an exclamation point after the O in the anthem. Rest is history. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/9 "2009-01-16T17:52:17Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > It was started by a legendary Orioles fan, “Wild Bill” Hagey, sometime in the 1960s or 1970s. > > He started out small, just screaming out O-R-I-O-L-E-S and leading cheers. Then one day he noticed, I guess, that there is an exclamation point after the O in the anthem. > > Rest is history. So what was with the still there part? Was that just the wind up for the O? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/10 "2009-01-16T18:08:05Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > So what was with the still there part? Was that just the wind up for the O? Yeah - it got worse over time. :rolleyes: I can’t claim innocence here - until I was seven I thought the last three words of the National Anthem were “Let’s go Steelers!” But at least we never screwed around with the anthem itself. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/11 "2009-01-16T18:16:04Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > So what was with the still there part? Was that just the wind up for the O? There really isn’t a thing about the “still there” part. [YouTube.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wSkMi9waiQ) Sorry about the terrible quality, but it was the first video I could find – around 1:10 you get to the relevant part of the song, and you can hear the crowd go “OH!” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/12 "2009-01-16T18:20:53Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > There really isn’t a thing about the “still there” part. > > [YouTube.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wSkMi9waiQ) Sorry about the terrible quality, but it was the first video I could find – around 1:10 you get to the relevant part of the song, and you can hear the crowd go “OH!” Thanks for the effort but I am on a military network. All streaming video is blocked. Too much bandwidth. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/13 "2009-01-16T18:21:16Z")
That annoys the hell out of me when they do it, but it seems to have calmed down a bit. I’ve never heard it as anything but **O’s** , never heard them get louder on any other part of the song. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-there-oh-question-about-national-anthem-in-baltimore/481615/14 "2009-01-16T19:59:53Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > I can’t claim innocence here - until I was seven I thought the last three words of the National Anthem were “Let’s go Steelers!” But at least we never screwed around with the anthem itself. _snerk_ jayjay (a son of Altoona, capital of East Steeler Country)