As a result of some borderline elitism displayed at the popular Athletics Nation website, I've decided to find out the history of The Wave.
Having grown up in Sacramento and not having much money or transportation, the game or two that we were able to attend at the Colosseum each year was extremely special. With televised games being very limited to non cable subscribers, I gained my love for the A's though Bill King and Ray Fosse. Any trip to the Coliseum was a chance for me to see, to feel, and to participate in the game. The voice of Roy Steele on the PA, the dot races, the hat game, the trough urinals, having my ears bleed to shouts of "Red Ropes!"-- it was all part of the experience. I remember fondly how we'd sit down by the visiting bullpen and taunt the pitches with a chorus of "dooooooooOOOOOO!! DOOOOOOooooooo" chants.
And then, there's the wave. Ah, the wave.
I've often wondered why there has been so much bitterness directed by A's fans towards the wave. Many say that it's an immature distraction that taints the game, and they'd rather have needles in their eyeballs than participate. Others argue that it screws up the pitchers' deliveries and that its use should be restricted to blowouts, top halfs of innings, or any time Loaiza's pitching. With all the wave-hatin' going on, it comes as a surprise to me to find that we may owe it all to an A's fan. It turns out that we're nearing the one-year anniversary of the last wave-related diary, and I believe it's time for another.
Krazy George is the man to whom we may owe it all. According to Krazy George, he accidentally invented the wave at an Edmonton Oilers game, where he was trying to get people on the other side of the stadium to jump up and raise their arms in response to his side's cheers. The response was delayed, and then the adjacent sections also jumped to their feet until the whole stadium had been encircled by The Wave. Krazy George then took it with him to Oakland, where as a rabid A's fan, he orchestrated the maneuver with 47000 fans on the 15th of October, 1981. Since then, it has spread like a virus to other venues and has become a staple in sports.
I attended my first A's game in 1989 against the Red Sox. The A's lost, but I fell in love with the atmosphere of the Oakland Coliseum. It is easy to see why those who have the opportunity to attend many games might just want to soak it in and ingore the antics of the fans. To some, baseball is a diversion. To others, it is an art. I respect the right of those die-hard fans to not participate in the wave, or to use the dot races as an opportunity to visit the beloved troughs. I just hope that you'll understand those of us that don't get a chance to come out to the ball park very often. You were there before the introduction of certain antics, including the wave. But it's all I've ever known.
Maybe we can pool our strength and do away with the "You Suck!!" chants.
In this old discussion there are a few good reasons why the wave is a distraction.
