Have you ever watched a game on television and seen the crowd in the background rise from their seats, throw their hands above their heads and sit back down? Of course you have. They’re doing “the wave”, an activity performed by thousands on a nightly basis that has been going on for decades. But the argument about who started the sports tradition has been raging for just as long and nobody is quite sure who should be given credit where it’s due.

One story claims that Bill “the Beerman” Scott had two sides of a stadium rising and shouting at each other in favor of their team, the Seattle Sounders and the Vancouver Whitecaps. As one side rose, the other would sit and vice versa, creating a mini-wave that went back and forth. This was done elsewhere in larger arenas, and as the size of the crowd increased, so did the prominence of the wave action. It quickly became a phenomenon and now tradition in Seattle sports.

Another argument goes in favor of “Krazy” George Henderson. He was entertaining the crowd at an Edmonton Oilers game where he pointed at a section of fans that rose to their seat and cheered. Henderson would then point to another section and they’d cheer. This repeated until one section was delayed and a wave effect was created. Henderson refined the routine into what is seen today, which he took to other events, including baseball games throughout the season and the wave was born.

If you’ve never been to a game where the wave took off and rolled around the crowd, you need to get out more. Head down to your local stadium as soon as possible. There’s nothing quite like joining thousands of others in a group effort to support your team by having fun, especially when the team is doing well. But at the same time, make sure there are more fans than empty seats in the crowd, otherwise it just looks ridiculous.