# Who invented the crowd wave? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401 "2005-05-11T15:51:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/1 "2005-05-11T15:51:27Z")
I was at a baseball game last night and the crowd was doing the wave. You know, that thing where you stand up and throw your arms periodically as it runs around the stadium? Who invented this wave? When was it first performed? Was it just some person and his or her friends, or was a stadium anouncer involved? ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/2 "2005-05-11T15:53:34Z")
In the U.K. the wave you are referring to is known as a “Mexican Wave”. The origin is given by [www.phrases.org.uk](http://www.phrases.org.uk) as: > [@](#): > > Given that name when the phenomenon came to a mass audience during the football World Cup held in Mexico in 1986. It had originated somewhat earlier in US colleges. No indication of how this phenomenon “came to a mass audience” however. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/3 "2005-05-11T15:57:33Z")
I really wish there was an edit button on this site!! (or I finished looking around before posting). Just found this on [www.guardian.co.uk](http://www.guardian.co.uk) , it is the opinion of a poster so may not be fact. > [@](#): > > It first appeared at a University of Washington Homecoming Game in 1981, led by UW Husky “Yell Leader” Rob Weller and UW Marching Band director Bill Bissell. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/4 "2005-05-11T16:00:48Z")
Good question. Looks like there isn’t a conclusive answer: [Just who started the wave, and why won’t it end?](http://www.sdreader.com/php/ma_show.php?id=082902A) > [@](#): > > The world at large first saw the wave on a telecast of a 1986 World Cup soccer tournament from Mexico City. For this reason, in England and some other soccer-loving countries, it’s called the Mexican wave. But by ‘86, it was already a fixture in the U.S. The Huskies’ version of the birth of the wave says that Rob Weller, a '70s UW grad, visited the campus and assumed his old post as head cheerleader on October 31, 1981, when Washington played Stanford. During the exciting third quarter, they say, Weller was struck by the thunderbolt that is now the wave. The school already had a cheer that involved a single section of fans who stood up one row at a time, from the bottom to the top. Weller sez he and the band director managed to turn that cheer on its side and start the wave. It went all the way around the stadium, with everyone standing at the end. So, that’s Washington’s story, and they’re sticking to it. > > […] > > According to the tape of the game and eyewitness comments, Krazy led a stand-up-sit-down form of the wave on October 15, 1981, at the Oakland Coliseum during a nationally televised playoff game between the As and the Yankees. Krazy admits it took a few tries, but the sellout crowd made it work. > > Weller and Washington sneer at Krazy’s wave, saying it was too stiff and wasn’t really a wave at all. Krazy points to his video and calls anybody who doubts him a doggone liar, and the whole Huskies story a cover-up to rob him of the recognition. So “who invented the wave” might be like “who invented the calendar” or “who invented the zero.” Perhaps the wave arose spontaneously in two different cultures. But personally, I just gotta go with Krazy. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/5 "2005-05-11T16:06:52Z")
> [@FlippyFly](#): > > Who invented this wave? When was it first performed? Was it just some person and his or her friends, or was a stadium anouncer involved? I’ve wanted to know this for some time. As soon as I get my hands on a time machine, I’m going back in time to break the guys legs before the first event the wave appears at. I didn’t know that it was still done. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/6 "2005-05-11T17:26:46Z")
I remember it being done at Seahawks games on TV in the eary 80s, which would make sense if it originated at UW. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/7 "2005-05-11T17:38:09Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > I’ve wanted to know this for some time. As soon as I get my hands on a time machine, I’m going back in time to break the guys legs before the first event the wave appears at. No way! If the stadium’s full, and everyone participates properly (without throwing shit like beer in the air) then it looks awesome, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/8 "2005-05-11T17:56:35Z")
I thought I read somewhere that the Wave was American and that it was a rarity elsewhere… Didnt think it was big across the pond. My German teacher told me that Sports/Cheerleading wasnt common in Germany, as far as schools go. I tend to think that America has enough Cheer leaders for the entire world as it is anyway. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/9 "2005-05-11T18:00:35Z")
I think the popularity of the mexican wave isn’t defined by geography but by sport. It seems to have been popular at football (soccer) games the world over for some time now. **Meeko** you are right about cheerleaders being mainly American I think. they are starting to creep into rugby games in the U.K. and occasionally at football matches but are still quite rare and lack the trained routines of their American counterparts, more a case of pretty girls with pom poms waving them at random. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/10 "2005-05-11T18:02:33Z")
Yeah. I just can’t “get with” or believe ““fake”” emotion. It’s as if it is in a can. Prepackaged and ready to use. Always stale, never fresh. ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/11 "2005-05-11T22:33:43Z")
I had heard that the wave originated, or at least became a phenomenon, when it became popular at Tiger Stadium in Detroit during the 1984 season (the last time the Tigers won the World Series). But since I grew up in Detroit, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some unjustified boasting involved. As for the wave outside the U.S., I know British crowds at Wimbledon did it the year that heavy rains forced soccer to be played on a Sunday, which meant letting the “commoners” in to centre court. It looked like a great time! ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Gene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/12 "2005-05-12T00:18:43Z")
I agree the origin was at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium in about 1981. Its cool to hate it now, but it was pretty cool when it was new. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/13 "2005-05-12T00:26:19Z")
It’s described in the Bible: John 3:_ **17** _ ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/14 "2005-05-12T00:44:26Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > It’s described in the Bible: John 3:_ **17** _ Which may explain why [Rainbow Man](http://www.moviecitynews.com/static_images/images/2005/200x300/rainbow_man.jpg) may have gone nuts and ended up like a Tarantino script. [What’s with those “John 3:16” signs that people hold up at football games?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_186.html) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/15 "2005-05-12T00:57:12Z")
I saw it for the first time in a Notre Dame at Miami game when Gerry Faust was the head coach. This would have been 1981 or 1982. The announcers called it the “Hurricane Wave.” During which one of those years did Notre Dame visit Miami? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/16 "2005-05-12T03:26:34Z")
After reading a 1984 newspaper story about the controversy, back when the wave was a national phenomenon in the US, I have to go with the Oakland A’s and “Krazy” George Henderson. > [@](#): > > A review of the NBC videotape verifies George’s claim. In the fifth, seventh, and ninth innings, a rolling domino-like wave occurred. It didn’t look as smooth as today’s version. But it was unmistakable, indisputably, a Wave. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/17 "2005-05-12T04:05:46Z")
It was established at least as long ago as 1981. I say this because I participated in one at Philly Jam '81 (or possibly 82…). The bands were: The Tubes, John Cougar, Brian Adams (he SUCKED), Sammy Hagar (pre-Van Halen), and headlining, Journey. It was a loooong day! But we did the wave, and it wasn’t a new thing at the time… ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/18 "2005-05-12T07:59:47Z")
It’s common practice at the cricket here in Australia to chuck stuff in the air as you’re doing it, often near (but not quite) emtpy plastic beer cups. Had it’s day a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/19 "2005-05-12T08:32:38Z")
in France it’s called the “Hola” which makes me think that, like the Brits, the French first saw it in the Mexico world cup. I don’t do soccer, especially as it’s not really a family atmposhere in the stadiums if you know what I mean but almost every rugby union match I’ve been to here has had at least one - more if the standard of play is boring or one team way ahead of the other. (Mind you the Paris team, Stade Francais encourage that sort of thing, they have a theme song and sometimes cheerleaders too.) ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401/20 "2005-05-12T11:32:39Z")
I once heard (I can’t remember from whom) that the wave started at Gallaudet University (a school for the deaf), as an alternative to applause that the deaf players would be able to notice more easily. However, I can’t turn up a single cite for this online, so I doubt that it’s true. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-the-crowd-wave/303401.md?page=2)