Wednesday, July 9, 2014

The Mexican Wave

Next week are the finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.  Football, known as soccer in the USA, is a big deal in Europe.  I was proud that the USA almost made it to the quarter finals.  Neither the Czechs nor the Slovaks qualified to the tournament.  They must be focused on getting ready for the upcoming hockey season.

One thing that drives me batty is when people refer to "the wave" as "the Mexican wave".  Here's the deal.  The wave is when, in the stands at a sporting event, briefly stand, yell and raise their arms before quickly returning to their seats.  

Outside of the USA and Canada, people call it the "Mexican wave" because it was first brought to world-wide attention when it was broadcast during the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.  Since this is when most people saw it for the first time, the name stuck.  However, the wave had been around for many years before that.  It was even used during the opening ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. 

And if you don't believe me then watch the movie "Teen Wolf".  Towards the end of the movie, you see kids at a basketball game doing the wave.  The film was released in 1985 (before the 1986 World Cup) which means that the scene was probably shot in 1984.  However, the wave had been around for years before that.  So to my Eurocrew, quit calling it the "Mexican wave"; it's just "the wave". 

1 comment:

  1. Congratulations, Chris, on five years of life in Brno. You are such a terrific expat, learning the language and the culture. May you have many more wonderful years and lots of fun trips too!

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