As Shea Stadium's last days slip away, some old habits are coming back. Among them: The Wave.
Loge13 was never a popular destination for The Wave. It was fun in its faddish way when The Wave first surfaced at Shea in the mid-1980's. But it quickly became a distraction, as folks began patrolling each section, demanding that fans "Get UP!" regardless of what was happening on the field. Once these self-assigned Wave mongers began threatening folks who didn't comply with orders, fights started breaking out and the game quickly became a sideshow.
Where'd the Wave Craze begin? One possibility according to Wikipedia:
Krazy George believes that the wave originally was inspired by
accident when he was leading cheers at a National Hockey League game at
the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada. His routine was to have one side of the arena jump and cheer,
then have the opposite side respond. One night in late 1980, there was
a delayed response from one section of fans, leading to them jumping to
their feet a few seconds later than the section beside them. The next
section of fans followed suit, and the first wave circled the
Northlands Coliseum of its own accord. Krazy George then perfected the
method for initiating a wave cheer with the Edmonton fans, and carried
the wave with him to other venues, culminating with the aforementioned
televised Major League Baseball game. Krazy George has been quoted as
saying "If you don't believe me, ask (former) Edmonton Oilers superstar Wayne Gretzky. He was there."
Last month, some guys in the box seats tried starting a Wave. It gained some momentum...until it hit Loge13:
These guys kept trying but Loge13 is the Great Barrier Reef to frivolity.
The Wave did kinda trickle back to life over in Loge5 but by then it had been reduced down from a Category 5 Wave to more of a ripple.
Note: Kingman and cohorts are still on vacation, hitting the real waves.
My favorite 'Shea Wave' moment had to happen in the late 90's. Mezzanine 3 is as strong as Loge 13 when it comes to repelling the Wave.
It was an unusually crowded game for the late 90's, and the Mezzanine was filled out to the odd 20's. It could have been a group theme night, or one of those International Nights. The wave would begin in right field, work its way towards home plate, where it would die.
Finally, one of the 'wave machines' out in Right Field ran down to Mezzanine 3, and began to yell, "Why don't you get up!? It's a wave!!"
Mezzanine 3 replied in a loud tone, "GET BACK ON YOUR BUS!!"
My favorite 'Shea Wave' moment had to happen in the late 90's. Mezzanine 3 is as strong as Loge 13 when it comes to repelling the Wave.
It was an unusually crowded game for the late 90's, and the Mezzanine was filled out to the odd 20's. It could have been a group theme night, or one of those International Nights. The wave would begin in right field, work its way towards home plate, where it would die.
Finally, one of the 'wave machines' out in Right Field ran down to Mezzanine 3, and began to yell, "Why don't you get up!? It's a wave!!"
Mezzanine 3 replied in a loud tone, "GET BACK ON YOUR BUS!!"
They never came back again.
Cheers!
-Doug