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For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed all aspects of sports--from competing and coaching to watching games from the stands. While I don’t remember the first time I participated in the “wave,” I do remember the last: the handball games at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The stadium was full of people of various nationalities, ages and races. How or when the wave began, I don’t recall, it just happened.
A Brief Look
In competitive games, the wave is known to almost all everyone. Spectators move their arms up and down, imitating the movement of a wave as it “breaks,” a continuous flow of energy like the natural waves in the ocean. Although there is some debate over the wave’s origin, it is believed a professional cheerleader named George Henderson initiated it in 1981.
The wave is not a typical behavior because there is generally no connection or verbal communication with the people sitting in the rows to the left and right, or on the opposing side of an arena. The beauty of this action is that it somehow brings everyone together in a cooperative act inspired by a common goal--to cheer on the home team. It is a pure expression of collective passion, unleashed.