The Atlantic asks “What accounts for the ubiquitous cheer of U-S-A following bin Laden’s death? What is the history of this cheer?
According to The Atlantic, the first U-S-A chant took place on October 26, 1979 when the United States men’s soccer team defeated Hungary 2-0 in Budapest.
It next appeared in 1980 during the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. The cheer was first uttered during the United States-Czechoslovakia hockey game and then became “a perfect soundtrack to the triumph over the Soviets.”
The cheer appeared again in 1984 as part of both the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles and Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign.
“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan brought the chant to the World Wrestling Federation in 1987. It was also used during the Gulf War in 1991 and then throughout the 1990s on the Jerry Springer Show (after the crowd chanted “Jerry! Jerry!).
The chant has been an ongoing joke on the Fox animated show, The Simpsons. It returned again after the 9-11-2001 attacks. Conan O’Brien often uses it when he flubs a joke. It was chanted as well at a Pittsburgh Pirates game when a drunken fan was Tasered and clubbed by police.
Well, there you have it–a short history of the U-S-A chant. Did The Atlantic miss anything?
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.