This section is largely based on an article in the out-of-copyright Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, which was produced in 1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page.(January 2022)
The word cheer originally meant face, countenance, or expression, and came through Old French into Middle English in the 13th century from Low Latincara, head; this is generally referred to the Greek καρα;. Cara is used by the 6th-century poet Flavius Cresconius Corippus, Postquam venere verendam Caesilris ante caram (In Laud em Justini Minoris). Cheer was at first qualified with epithets, both of joy and gladness and of sorrow; compare She thanked Dyomede for ale ... his gode chere (Chaucer, Troylus) with If they sing ... tis with so dull a cheere (Shakespeare, Sonnets, xcvii.). An early transference in meaning was to hospitality or entertainment, and hence to food and drink, good cheer. The sense of a shout of encouragement or applause is a late use. Defoe (Captain Singleton) speaks of it as a sailor's word, and the meaning does not appear in Johnson's Dictionary.[1]
Of the different words or rather sounds that are used in cheering, "hurrah", though now generally looked on as the typical British form of cheer, is found in various forms in German, Scandinavian, Russian (ura), French (hourra). It is probably onomatopoeic in origin. The English hurrah was preceded by huzza, stated to be a sailors word, and generally connected with heeze, to hoist, probably being one of the cries that sailors use when hauling or hoisting. The German hoch, seen in full in Hoch lebe der Kaiser, &c., the French vive, Italian and Spanish viva, evviva, are cries rather of acclamation than encouragement. The Japanese shout banzai became familiar during the Russo-Japanese War. In reports of parliamentary and other debates the insertion of cheers at any point in a speech indicates that approval was shown by members of the House by emphatic utterances of hear hear. Cheering may be tumultuous, or it may be conducted rhythmically by prearrangement, as in the case of the Hip-hip-hip by way of introduction to a simultaneous hurrah.[2] The saying "hip hip hurrah" dates to the early 1800s. Nevertheless, some sources speculate possible roots going back to the crusaders, then meaning "Jerusalem is lost to the infidel, and we are on our way to paradise". The abbreviation HEP would then stand for Hierosolyma est perdita, "Jerusalem is lost" in Latin.[3]
Chants in North American sports
This section is largely based on an article in the out-of-copyright Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, which was produced in 1911. It should be brought up to date to reflect subsequent history or scholarship (including the references, if any). When you have completed the review, replace this notice with a simple note on this article's talk page.(January 2022)
Rhythmical cheering has been developed to its greatest extent in America in the college yells, which may be regarded as a development of the primitive war-cry; this custom has no real analogue at English schools and universities, but the New Zealand rugby team in 1907 familiarized English crowds at their matches with the haka, a similar sort of war-cry adopted from the Māoris. In American schools and colleges there is usually one cheer for the institution as a whole and others for the different classes.[4]
The oldest and simplest are those of the New England colleges. The original yells of Harvard and Yale are identical in form, being composed of rah (abbreviation of hurrah) nine times repeated, shouted in unison with the name of the university at the end. The Yale cheer is given faster than that of Harvard. Many institutions have several different yells, a favorite variation being the name of the college shouted nine times in a slow and prolonged manner. The best known of these variants is the Yale cheer, partly taken from The Frogs of Aristophanes, which runs thus:[4]
The first-known cheer from the sidelines was Princeton University's "rocket call", which was heard during the first-ever intercollegiate football game, between Princeton and Rutgers University in 1869.[5]
By the 1890s, Princeton's original "rocket" had been modified into its distinctive "locomotive" cheer:
Hip, hip!
Rah, rah, rah!
Tiger, tiger, tiger!
Siss, siss, siss!
Boom, boom, boom! Ah!
Princeton! Princeton! Princeton!
It is called the "Locomotive" cheer because it sounds like a train engine that starts slowly then picks up speed. Princeton University also established the first pep club. All-male "yell leaders" supported the Princeton football team with cheers from the sidelines. (cited:: Valliant, Doris, pg 15)
The railroad cheer is like the foregoing, but begun very slowly and broadly, and gradually accelerated to the end, which is enunciated as fast as possible. Many cheers are formed like that of the University of Toronto:[4]
Varsity, varsity,
V-a-r-s-i-t-y (spelled)
VARSIT-Y (spelled staccato)
Var-si-ty,
Rah, rah, rah!
Additionally, a non-traditional cheer has been demonstrated by The New School. In the style of American actress and singer-songwriter Christina Milian, modeled after one of her more popular singles, "Dip It Low", the students' chant dips low and is picked up slow, towards the end.
Besides the cheers of individual institutions there are some common to all, generally used to compliment some successful athlete or popular professor. One of the oldest examples of these personal cheers is:[4]
Who was George Washington? First in war, First in peace, First in the hearts of his countrymen.
...followed by a stamping on the floor in the same rhythm.
College yells, more informally known as cheers and chants, are used particularly at athletic contests. In any large college there are several leaders, chosen by the students, who stand in front and call for the different songs and cheers, directing with their arms in the fashion of an orchestral conductor. This cheering and singing form one of the distinctive features of inter-collegiate and scholastic athletic contests in America.[4]
Organised chants in North American sports are rarer then in their European counterparts, but some teams have their special routines. Common chants include "Let's go – [team name] -, let's go (clap-clap clap-clap-clap); or in case of a single syllable nickname, "Go – [team name] – Go". Spectators also use derivatives of these to chant the names of particular athletes. A notable example of this is the Derek Jeter chant, where fans chant the name of the then New York Yankees shortstop and employ a similar clapping rhythm.[8] In some contexts, spectator chanting may also be used derisively to chide athletes or contestants.
Most teams have a scoring song played on the PA system, and some professional American football teams sing a fight song after scores. The use of fight songs after a score is universal in college football. Since scoring in basketball is more frequent, and does not generally cause breaks in the game action, scoring songs are not employed in that sport. However, in college basketball, fight songs are universally played during prolonged breaks in game action (timeouts, halftime, and overtime breaks if any). Baseball fans traditionally sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the middle of the 7th inning. After 9/11, many professional teams chose to use "God Bless America" during that break, either supplementing or replacing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". A very loud cheer at sporting events is usually called "Do Yay".
In High School Basketball games, if the score was a blow-out and approaching the end of regulation, fans of the winning team would chant "This Game's Over" or "This One's Over." If the losing team makes a play, and that team's fans chant for that, fans of the winning team will start chanting "Scoreboard", indicating that even after the one play, the other team is losing.
Bugs, Smith and his horse: Bricka bracka firecracka sis boom bah! Bugs Bunny! Bugs Bunny! RAH RAH RAH!
Smith and his horse: Bricka bracka firecracka sis boom bah! Bugs Bunny! Bugs Bunny! RAH RAH RAH! (×2)
Pogo had a recurring character named Miss Sis Boombah, an athletic Rhode Island Red.
Rugby union
Chants are less extensive in rugby union but the Oggy Oggy Oggy chant first became popular on the terraces at Welsh rugby union matches, Australians later modified the tune and created their own chant (Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!). England supporters sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", a song long popular in rugby union clubs since the words lend themselves readily to a sequence of lewd hand gestures, which the Australians have been singing as well in the last decade. The Welsh sing "Cwm Rhondda", which is the tune of the hymn "Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer", as well as the chorus of Max Boyce's "Hymns and Arias". The Fields of Athenry is often sung at matches by supporters of the Irish rugby union team. The New Zealand team (the All Blacks) are known for engaging in a ritual Māorihaka before international matches. The Fiji team performs the cibi; the Samoa team the siva tau; and the Tonga team the sipa tau. The Pacific Islanders rugby union team, a joint Fiji/Samoa/Tonga representative team that played for the first time in 2004, uses a specially composed chant combining elements of each nation's traditional chant.
The Australian Rugby Union has made a concerted effort to promote the singing of Waltzing Matilda since 1999, frequently featuring singer John Williamson at home matches to lead the crowd. As singing is not a part of Australian sporting culture[citation needed], this "tradition" may well fade without active support from administration.
Cricket
Chants are also used in Cricket, the Barmy Army has a collection of songs and chants such as 'You all live in a convict colony' sung to the tune of 'Yellow Submarine'. It is done to remind Australian cricket fans of their supposed criminal past. The hymn Jerusalem became the song of choice for the England cricket team during the 2005 Ashes series, and Michael Vaughan encouraged the whole country to sing the song before the last Test match at The Oval.
Around the world
Equivalents of English "Hurray" found around the world include, "Hourra!" in France, ¡Viva! in Spanish, "Yatta!" in Japan, and so on.[9]
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition. Cheerleading routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting. Cheerleading originated in the United States, where it has become a tradition. It is less prevalent in the rest of the world, except via its association with American sports or organized cheerleading contests.
A football chant or terrace chant is a form of vocalisation performed by supporters of association football, typically during football matches. Football chanting is an expression of collective identity, most often used by fans to express their pride in the team they support, or to encourage them, and to celebrate a particular player or manager. Fans may also use football chants to slight the opposition, and many fans sing songs about their club rivals, even when they are not playing them. Sometimes the chants are spontaneous reactions to events on the pitch.
A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand, these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated with collegiate sports, fight songs are also used by secondary schools and in professional sports.
The Oski Yell is the University of California Berkeley spirit yell from which the school’s mascot, Oski the Bear, derives his name. Although Oski appeared in 1941, the yell was first performed around the turn of the 20th century. The yell's origins are uncertain, although the University of Illinois originated a similar yell in 1899. Another early version is credited to Vince Wirtz, who led a similar cheer beginning in the 1920s at football games for Hamilton, Ontario teams.
The Princeton Reunions are an annual college reunion event held every year on the weekend before commencement at Princeton University. Known simply as "Reunions", this event brings back to campus upwards of 25,000 alumni and guests for a four-day celebration featuring large outdoor tents, elaborate costumes, sporting events, alumni and faculty presentations, fireworks, and bands from rock to swing.
The Cameron Crazies are the student section supporting the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team and the Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team. The section can hold approximately 1,200 occupants. The section, also deemed "The Zoo" by Al McGuire for their humorous pranks, and "The Sixth-Man" by Duke men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski, is known for being "rude, crude and lewd – as well as cleverly funny," stated Frank Vehorn of the Virginian-Pilot. The Crazies are famous for painting their bodies blue and white or wearing outrageous outfits. They start their cheering as soon as warm-ups begin. Throughout the game, the Crazies jump up and down when the opposing team has possession of the ball and yell cheers in unison at focal points of the game.
Carnac the Magnificent was a recurring comedic role played by Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. One of Carson's most well-known characters, Carnac was a "mystic from the East" who could psychically "divine" unknown answers to unseen questions.
The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893.
Cony High School is a public school located in Augusta, Maine, United States that educates students from Grades 9 to 12. Cony draws its students from Augusta, as well as the surrounding communities of Chelsea, China, Jefferson, Palermo, Somerville, Vassalboro, Whitefield, and Windsor.
Oskee-Wow-Wow is the official fight song of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The song was written in 1910 by two students, Harold Vater Hill, Class of 1911 (1889–1917), credited with the music, and Howard Ruggles Green, Class of 1912 (1890–1969), credited with the lyrics.
Charlotte Angas Scott was a British mathematician who made her career in the United States; she was influential in the development of American mathematics, including the mathematical education of women. Scott played an important role in Cambridge changing the rules for its famous Mathematical Tripos exam.
Hoya Saxa is the official cheer and "college yell" of Georgetown University and its athletics teams. The term hoya is an Ancient Greek word usually transliterated from οἵα as hoia from the word hoios (οἷος) meaning 'such' or 'what' as in 'what manner of,' and is used in certain biblical quotations. Saxa is Latin for 'rocks' or 'small stones.' It was used in the name of some Roman settlements, such as Saxa Rubra. Before 1900, students at Georgetown were required to study classical linguistics, and both words are in the neuter plural of their respective languages. The phrase together is generally translated into English as "what rocks!", though other translations have suggested "such rocks!" or "great rocks!" or even "what rocks?" as a question. It was also historically rendered as "Hoya, Hoya, Saxa!", a form that is used in "The Hoya Song" from 1930 which mocked the cheers of other universities, and was then included in the school fight song, "There Goes Old Georgetown".
Thomas Peebles was the father of American cheerleading and the first college football coach at the University of Minnesota, in 1883. Peebles coached the team in three games in that early season. They lost two and won one.
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads comprise the cheerleading organization at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. Being the first program ever to form worldwide, the University of Minnesota is consequently considered the "Birthplace of Cheerleading". Today, the Gopher Spirit Squads consist of four separate squads: a cheer squad, a dance team, a hockey cheer squad, and the school's mascot, Goldy Gopher. The squads consistently perform well at national competitions including 21 national championships in dance since 2003, a 2nd-place finish for All-Girl in 2013, a fifth-place finish in 2017, and four-time national champion Goldy Gopher in 2011, 2013, 2017, and 2018. The current head coach is Sam Owens.
"Hail to Pitt" is the most traditional fight song of the University of Pittsburgh, which is commonly referred to as Pitt. The saying "Hail to Pitt!" is also the most traditional and commonly used slogan of the University of Pittsburgh and its athletics teams. The slogan is frequently used in promotional material, printed on merchandise and souvenirs. It was also the title of a 1982 history of Pitt athletics by author Jim O'Brien. The slogan is often used among alumni as a statement of affiliation, including as a closing signature in conversation or correspondence between alumni, and is sometime abbreviated as "HTP" or "H2P", the latter of which is a registered trademark of the university and is frequently used on official university signage and merchandise.
Fired Up! is a 2009 American teen sex comedy film directed by Will Gluck who is also credited with writing the film under the pseudonym Freedom Jones. The film's plot revolves around two popular high school football players who decide to attend a cheerleading camp for the summer to get close to its 300 female cheerleaders. The film was released on February 2, 2009, by Screen Gems. The film received negative reviews from critics and audiences and was a commercial flop, having grossed $18.5 million against a $20 million budget.
There are a multitude of rituals associated with collegiate sporting events across the United States. Varying by sport, demographics, and location, sporting rituals often become essential to the preparation, organization, and game-day experience. In fact, many would argue that rituals are the experience.
Catholic University of America's intercollegiate sports teams are called the Cardinals after the northern cardinal, and they compete in the NCAA's Division III. They are members of the Landmark Conference, the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (football) and the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference (rowing). The team colors are red and black.
Ski-U-Mah is a slogan used at the University of Minnesota since 1884, when the newly emerging football team was coached by Thomas Peebles, a philosophy professor and former Princeton University faculty member.
The baseball cheering culture in South Korea started in the 1990s and continues to the present. There are 10 professional clubs and each club has its own way of cheering. The Korean cheering culture generally shares similar characteristics: collective, enthusiastic and empathetic. Baseball cheering is popular because of easy-to-learn fight songs, break-time events and a variety of foods. Baseball cheering is performed in most parts of a ballpark.
↑ Akira Miura Essential Japanese Vocabulary 2013 1462910106 Yatta!やった "Hurray!" Yatta!やった is a frequently used exclamation of joy uttered when something wonderful happens unexpectedly.
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