What are the origins of the English sports celebration involving alternate arm up and down movements?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I swear I have only seen English sports fans & players do this. It's very possible it happens elsewhere and I just haven't noticed.
There are two forms of this celebration. They both involve alternating arm movements, up and down. The first form involves you holding your hands stretched out in front of you, palms facing down:
https://i.imgur.com/MgwHN2X.gif
The second form involves you holding your fists out in front of you or a bit to the side. Then you alternate raising your left fist, then your right fist as you lower the left one, and repeat, as though you were pulling on two pulleys, one after the other.
I swear I have not seen a celebration like this anywhere in North America (I live in Canada), although do correct me if I'm wrong about that.
Is this simply a matter of different cultures having different methods that they celebrate sporting victories with or is there any sort of story that could be told here?
I am wondering if this celebration is a reference to anything? Maybe another sport or something in English or British culture?
Is it something that arose after North America was already colonized? Or is there another reason why this form of celebrating has not spread elsewhere? Is this something uniquely English or British that resonates with English sports fans that just wouldn't resonate with sports fans elsewhere? Or would the answers to those questions be simply lost to history, and this is just how it is?
I would also love to hear about other places where such celebrations are common to some degree. It's very possible I'm simply out of the loop here.
Posted Jul 10, 2024, 9:27 PM UTC