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25 Years Of Sports Tradition

MFS62 Oct 27 2006 09:39 AM

]Krazy George celebrates starting the Wave cheer 25 years ago By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer October 25, 2006 OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Krazy George Henderson has spent the last quarter-century trying to persuade everyone that he debuted the "Wave" during an Oakland Athletics' playoff game against the Yankees -- not those Washington football fans who claim the Huskies first performed the now famous cheer. Debate aside, the Wave is 25 years old and still going strong. "It's been really interesting," Krazy George said in a phone interview from his home in New Rochelle, N.Y. "I see it at the Olympics. There's a video of Fidel Castro doing it. If it had actually originated in New York at a Yankees game, they would have thought it was sent by the gods." Krazy George, now 62, says he spent three years perfecting the Wave. He first pulled off the move -- in which fans take turns, by section, standing up and waving their arms -- on Oct. 15, 1981, at the Yankees-A's AL championship series game in the Coliseum. Washington, meanwhile, did it two weeks later, on Oct. 31. Former Husky yell leader Robb Weller had returned to campus for a homecoming game against Stanford. He began a vertical version of the Wave in the '70s, but first did the horizontal Wave that day. Officials at Washington acknowledge Krazy George as being first, but what they are certain of is that the Huskies popularized the cheer. It soon caught on at a Seattle Seahawks game, too. It took a year and a half, according to Krazy George, for the Huskies to fess up that they'd seen the Wave on television and given it their own twist. Good thing, too, because he has the proof on tape: The Wave was part of the A's 1981 highlight video shown to potential season ticket holders for the following year. "That's the best-kept lie in the last 25 years. But now, most of the world recognizes me," Krazy George said. "Their theory is that they came up with it in 30 seconds! 'Oh, we just thought it up.' "They kept doing it the whole football season and of course they were a big national football power with a big budget. I tell everyone to call Seattle and get their side of the story. It's like a war with me." Krazy George, known best by that name and for pounding his drum in stadiums across the United States, is a California native who moved north to Napa from Southern California at age 17. He left for New York three years ago. A former high school shop teacher, Krazy George's lone job the last 30 years has been as a for-hire cheerleader -- working all of about three hours a week. Yes, that's it. He averages one game every seven days. In that first Wave game, the Yankees eliminated the A's 4-0 to reach the World Series. Dave Righetti, now the San Francisco Giants' pitching coach, was the winning pitcher. A crowd of 47,302 was on hand for the first Wave. "We put it on the map in 1981," said Shooty Babitt, a rookie on the '81 A's. "A lot of people wish the Wave would go away now. A lot of people don't understand when you should do it. ... The new-age fan doesn't understand where the Wave originated. But Krazy George still looks the same today as he did 25 years ago." Krazy George is a well-known figure at sporting venues, especially in the Bay Area. Mostly bald with blond curls above his ears, he wears his striped athletic socks pulled up and always has a drum in hand. He has been featured in national magazines and TV programs and has several upcoming interviews with international publications. That game in Oakland was the biggest crowd yet for Krazy George, who had tried the cheer a couple of times at high school rallies. A simpler version originated at San Jose State several years earlier. Krazy George would call for the three student sections to chant -- one word for each group -- "San!" "Jose!" "State!" He would point to each section signaling those students' turn. He also did something similar for the former Colorado Rockies hockey team, using "Go! Rockies! Go!" But it didn't work so well with only 5,000 fans in the seats many nights. He knows there are plenty of fans out there who refuse to participate or become grumpy when their view of the game gets briefly blocked. "There are always a few people," he said. So, in an era when fads tend to fade quickly in sports, fashion and technology, why has the Wave stood the test of time? "As a professional cheerleader, I know why I do it: What it does is intensify the energy of the crowd," Krazy George said. "It's almost like an accomplishment. It's their own competition, like a contest or video game. You have to participate to make it work. It takes 95 percent of fans doing it to make it great." Krazy George says he last got into it with Washington about the Wave before the 20th anniversary. Over the years, he has called the university's athletic director and president, not to mention newspapers and TV stations. The way things are going, the Wave will carry on long enough for the lore to continue. "You can start a wave but nobody can stop one," Krazy George said. "The only way it stops is if something exciting happens on the field." Do you like the wave? Do you participate in it when at the game/ Did you ever? Later

HahnSolo Oct 27 2006 10:09 AM

Hate it. And I hate it more when it's started by fans who seemingly have no clue about what's going on in the game. I was at a game this year, it was the top of the 7th or 8th, a one-run game, and the Braves had a runner on second. And these people were trying to get a wave going. Clueless.

Johnny Dickshot Oct 27 2006 10:12 AM

I'm not a wave snob. I wouldn't dare start one, and often think those who do must be complete 'tards, but unless the moment is truly compelling I usually make an effort to give a poor effort when it comes my way -- raise one hand without leaving my seat.

soupcan Oct 27 2006 10:18 AM

Do the anti-wave. Getting your whole section to do it is not as hard as you think. Start by yourself and eventually the people around you pick it up. We used to do it at football and basketball games at the Carrier dome. You stand up waving your hands frantcally while the wave starts on the other side of the stadia. As the wave circles around and ultimately reaches your section you all just sit. It throws off the timing of the next section and the wave just dies. Its very effective, promotes comraderie within your section and elicits hateful invective from sections around you. Hours of fun.

Frayed Knot Oct 27 2006 10:18 AM

In the beginning waves could be fun [u:45c5d6bdbc]IF[/u:45c5d6bdbc] (and this is the biggie) they were started at the right time. It's one thing to be killing time during lulls in games or concerts. But those mindlessly trying to start one while they should be paying attention to the game deserve to have their project weakly peter out and die an embarrassing death.

cooby Oct 27 2006 10:22 AM

You know the ones I hate? The people who stand up and turn around waving their arms over their heads as though to say "make more noise". Like the entire section is focused on THEM and not the game. The bad part is usually the fans do make more noise, because something exciting happens (or a player on the field is doing it too and that is whom the crowd is responding to) and that person thinks they actually made it happen

ScarletKnight41 Oct 27 2006 10:49 AM

I hat the wave. It's banal and passe.

MFS62 Oct 27 2006 11:16 AM

The only wave I've enjoyed was that two-fan wave in Major League. Later

seawolf17 Oct 27 2006 11:26 AM

I hate the wave with the passion of a thousand fires. When the wave comes around, I want one of these morons to get whacked in the head with a foul ball.

Johnny Dickshot Oct 27 2006 11:44 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 27 2006 11:45 AM

You lousy elitist turds. At least the wave is working together with your neighbors and at leats attempts to be fun. There must be a million worse things to do a game. You could boo star players from close-in seats, like Soupcan likes to do. You could be one of those douchejacks chanting "Yankees Suck!" You could arrive late or leave early. You could drink too much and start a fight. You could be one of those asstards constantly moving to "better" seats that don't belong to them. You could take off your shirt or paint your face. You could be one of those cockrings who don't chant "Let's Go Mets!" but only chant "whoo!" You could sit in the middle of the row and leave your seat 3 or 4 times a game. You could be one of those ignoramuses who take cues from MFY fans and chant shit like "Tom-my Glav-ine! (clap-clap! clap-clap-clap)!" You could be one of those buttwipes who talk on their cellphone all game. Or one of the ultrabuttwipes who talk on their cellphones while being hyperaware of the cameras placing them in the background. You could get all excited only when they're launching t-shirts. You could sing along to Sweet Caroline but not "Take me out to the ballgame." You could remain seated with your hat on during the Star-spangled banner. You could applaud the first pitch when thrown out by some sales weenie from a sponsor but boo the first time a Met throws ball four. You could be one of those peckerwoods who enters the out door of the Men's room and pisses on the floor. You could fail to pass the money down to the vendor at the end of the row, or tip him. You could elbow a kid in the face to catch a foul ball and not give it to him afterward. You could be one of those shithammers who orders an ice-cream helmet sundae and selects the all-black helmet. You could be one of those pathetic adults waving a baseball and pen at ballplayers warming up.

seawolf17 Oct 27 2006 11:45 AM

Or you could do the wave, which sucks and is annoying and needs to result in more people getting whacked in the head by foul balls.

Johnny Dickshot Oct 27 2006 12:00 PM

I'm all for people not paying attention at games getting hit in the head with foul balls, don't get me wrong. I'm just perplexed with this special level of hate for the wave which at worst is harmless fun and not the kind of behavior that really ought to stop at ballgames.

Edgy DC Oct 27 2006 12:01 PM

I'm wave tolerant. Why not? I've seen crowd psychology try to pass a lot of far worse things off as fun. Think of all the bad things Junior learns from the above litany. The wave teaches him how much fun it is, when excited, to jump up with friends. And, yeah, how satisfying it is to be independent and take a pass. Big deal. Inexperienced foolish folk start them at inappropirate times? Yeah, everything is bad if done at an inapporpriate time, but those peter out.

MFS62 Oct 27 2006 12:05 PM

I was impressed by JD's use of different nouns. Very creative. Later

soupcan Oct 27 2006 12:07 PM

You could boo star players from close-in seats, like Soupcan likes to do. - It IS fun. You guys should try it. You could be one of those douchejacks chanting "Yankees Suck!" - I prefer 'stink'. Sets a better example for my kids. You could arrive late or leave early. - If you don't get there early how can you expect to get the best parking spot in the 'Reserved Lot'? Duh. You could drink too much and start a fight. - I throw peanuts when I drink too much and when they turn around I point at the people behind me. You could be one of those asstards constantly moving to "better" seats that don't belong to them. - Drives me crazy! Who do they think they are? Me? You could take off your shirt or paint your face. - Gotta lose at least 15 lbs before I start that up again. You could be one of those cockrings who don't chant "Let's Go Mets!" but only chant "whoo!" - Yeah pick one or the other. Shouting both leaves no time to catch your breath. You could sit in the middle of the row and leave your seat 3 or 4 times a game. - that's why I bring a 'pee bucket' to every game. You could be one of those ignoramuses who take cues from MFY fans and chant shit like "Tom-my Glav-ine! (clap-clap! clap-clap-clap)!" - I got nuthin' You could be one of those buttwipes who talk on their cellphone all game. - Just so my wife knows I'm telling the truth about where I am. There's a history there. Or one of the ultabuttwipes who talk on their cellphones while being hyperaware of the cameras placing them in the background. - See above. You could get all excited only when they're launching t-shirts. - Used to until I caught one. Like i need a shirt that says 'Pepsi Party Patrol' Ooooh! You could sing along to Sweet Caroline but not "Take me out to the ballgame." Was surprised to learn it was 'OH, OH, OH!' rather than 'BA, BA, BA!' You could remain seated with your hat on during the Star-spangled banner. -Worst part of the game experience for me - exposing the hat head. You could applaud the first pitch when thrown out by some sales weenie from a sponsor but boo the first time a Met throws ball four. - I applaud the effort it takes to be #1 in the lower tri-state area in business machine sales. Good for him! You could be one of those peckerwoods who enters the out door of the Men's room and pisses on the floor. -Have never done both of those during the same visit but you've given me an idea. You could fail to pass the money down to the vendor at the end of the row, or tip him. - I like to ball-up the bills and throw them to the vendors. Not so much fun when they huck the quarters back at me though. You could elbow a kid in the face to catch a foul ball and not give it to him afterward. -or throw a box of popcorn at the guy about to catch it so he misses it - not that I've ever done that. More than once. You could be one of those shithammers who orders an ice-cream helmet sundae and selects the all-black helmet. -Did you know they had orange ones during the playoffs? Very kewl. You could be one of those pathetic adults waving a baseball and pen at ballplayers warming up. - Dude, it's for my son. I swear.

metirish Oct 27 2006 12:12 PM

This is great stuff guys, I associate the wave with the 1986 Wold Cup, the Mexican Wave....

Vic Sage Oct 27 2006 12:14 PM

lousy elitist turds douchejacks asstards cockrings ignoramuses buttwipes ultrabuttwipes peckerwoods shithammers pathetic adults "shithammer" was my favorite. I'm a little disappointed, however, by the absence of "fucktards". Also, there were many nounless examples, which indicates a certain amount of laziness. Johnny, we expect more from you than that.

Johnny Dickshot Oct 27 2006 12:48 PM

I invented Douchejack and Shithammer just for this post. I feel like Shakespeare. I need one of those bad-name generatorrs, where you take a bad word from column A and conjoin it with a normal word from column B. Let's try it A B Shit doctor Fuck sponge Piss rock Vagina fish Ass wagon Butt shine Ball diet Sack cymbal Shut up, you ___________-ing ___________.

Johnny Dickshot Oct 27 2006 12:49 PM

Shut up, you shitsponging assdoctor.

Willets Point Oct 27 2006 12:51 PM

I'm not a big wave fan these days, and do not participate, but back in the rowdy Shea of the 80's I remember the Wave being well-coordinated with Mets rallys. These days the Wave seems to be indifferent to action on the field. And that sucks.

soupcan Oct 27 2006 12:55 PM

I don't think being on a vagina diet would be such a horrible thing.

MFS62 Oct 27 2006 01:10 PM

soupcan wrote: I don't think being on a vagina diet would be such a horrible thing. Do we detect a new product that will soon reach our grocer's shelves? In marketing, that's called line extension. The product name would tell it all. But what do you put in the nutritional values section on the back of the label? Has it received FDA approval yet? Not a bad idea, but so many questions yet to be answered. Later

cooby Oct 27 2006 01:14 PM

ew...

Centerfield Oct 27 2006 01:23 PM

I'm ok with the wave, I just don't see why it's worth the effort. I have a much bigger problem with "Everybody clap your hands...clap clap clap clap clap." It makes me want to scream. And everyone already knows how I feel about "Yankees Suck." The only crowd-coordinated thing I've seen that I like, other than "Let's Go Mets" is the "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh" thing Duke fans do at the Cameron Center. You can actually see how frantic this makes opposing players. I've always thought it would be cool to do something like that when an opposing pitcher is on the ropes. I can see a pitcher getting rattled after the "Oh" becomes deafening after throwing ball 3.

Edgy DC Oct 27 2006 01:28 PM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Oct 27 2006 01:46 PM

The creepiest thing I ever did at a ballgame was at an away basketball game. Besides myself, here were a handful of visiitor fans there --- maybe a few dozen --- but nobody took the initiative to start a wave of jeering when a home player went to the line for a key free throw. Amid the church-like respectful hush, I waited until the shooter's mid-release and let fly with a loud "MI-HISS!" As the ball clanked off the back of the rim, 4,000 pairs of eyes glared at me murderously. My faux pas was underscored by the sudden realization that I was sitting in the home-team alumni section.

MFS62 Oct 27 2006 01:32 PM

We're glad you got out alive. How'd you manage to do that? Later

cooby Oct 27 2006 01:33 PM

Opposite of what I did. Once about three or four years ago at a minor league game in Williamsport, a kid on the opposing team hit a boomer of a homerun. The crowd was sitting there on their hands and I'm thinking "that boy is Lee's age (Lee was my daughter's then boyfriend, and a terrific ball player), he's far from home, he just hit a monster homerun and he's getting no love for it. So I stood up and started clapping, and urged my son and his friend to do the same, and soon the fans had a nice hand going for him. Problem was, Williamsport eventually lost the game because of those runs, but we all feel better for it

Elster88 Oct 27 2006 01:45 PM

]You could be one of those ignoramuses who take cues from MFY fans and chant shit like "Tom-my Glav-ine! (clap-clap! clap-clap-clap)!" Yo. Get it right. The MFY fans did NOT suddenly create the four-syllable, five-clap chant. That's been around a long time before they started doing that roll call thing. There's nothing wrong with other fans using it on a one-off basis.

Frayed Knot Oct 27 2006 02:49 PM

soupcan wrote: I don't think being on a vagina diet would be such a horrible thing. Exhibit A, your honor, in; 'Posts that shouldn't start off a new page'

DocTee Nov 16 2006 09:37 PM

Another quarter century (more or less) milestone: The Sports Machine with George Michael ending its run this March (is it still broadcast on NBC late Sunday nights?)

metirish Nov 16 2006 09:43 PM

Yeah after the francesa show...I tried watching but the guy is just annoying..

Edgy DC Nov 16 2006 11:29 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Nov 16 2006 11:49 PM

A friend of mine is a producer for Michael. He's a very interesting baseball fan, and his favorite sub-hobby is collecting old photos of plays at the plate --- trying to glean from context exactly what date it was and what play in which inning.

Frayed Knot Nov 16 2006 11:33 PM

The other thing about George Michael is that he was the guy who directly replaced 'Cousin Brucie' when Bruce left his run as the (6-10PM?) DJ on WABC-770 Radio - which was then the 800-lb gorilla in pop music radio.

Johnny Dickshot Nov 16 2006 11:44 PM

I have old videotape of the "Sports Machine" from like 1982 or 83 -- somewhat ahead of its time with highlights-as-entertainment, but you can tell when Michael narrated his reels in a single take and didn;t bother covering his flubs. This was the most entertaining part of the show for me.

Frayed Knot Nov 16 2006 11:50 PM

"Best Award"