Ban the Mexican Wave

I dont think it matters. Sure, there not watching the game but half the crowd dont even like rugby and if they're bored well then this would lighten the crowd up and they'd start getting more into it-which cant be a bad thing. and why do you care, it doesnt effect you

I don't blame the crowd for doing a MW. That first half was utterly boring. I went to bed.

I don't think the answer is to ban the MW, its just the appropriate use of the MW and the associated crowd behaviours. The MW starting up when it did was not appropriate for the Boks rugby game and all the meaningless cheering actually broke down the atmosphere and made the crowd look like a bunch of Rugby pilgrims or tourists. Also many drunken hooligans look for the MW as a cover to get up to some mischief and empty their bladders without going to the loo.

The reality is that one used to only be able to get rugby test tickets via your rugby club. Even then it was virtually impossible to get any. Now tickets are sold at rediculous prices to large corporations. They hand out these like lollies to their corporate 'buddies' of whom have no idea about the game. They have never played it and only go because they did not pay a cent for their seat. They are bored because they are clueless as to what is going on. Half of them call out stuff like "shepherding ref" and "6 to go". They arrive with toddlers and spend the entire 80 minutes running back and forth to the canteen. Remember when Grant Fox would kick for goal in silence? The serious rugger bugger was there to watch rugby. Now they stay at home because that way you can watch the game uninterrupted (on Fox sports). There are 10,000 unsold Bledisloe tickets. Are the ARFU listening? When will the message get through to them?

The importance of a Mexican wave? Watch where it starts from, they are not there to assess the game as often discussed at theroar.

Ban the Mexican Wave? Or what? Say everyone participates in it (which everyone generally does, otherwise it wouldn't be a mexican wave), and then what are you going to do. Ban everyone?? Seriously, all you lot who have written in against the MW have lost touch with reality. I'm actually disgusted with myself for even wasting the time writing in about this topic, which is why I'm stopping right now.

'Ban the Mexican wave' is merely a figure of speech to highlight my frustration with it, obviously I'm not recommending such a course of action. It's just pointless and annoying and I can guarantee your own players who you barrack for would hate you for doing it. All it says is the crowd are not watching. And this isn't a fun police crack down - any supporter showing passion whether it be vocally, wearing their colours, drums, trumpets, etc is a boon for the game. That damn wave does not represent anything close to passion for the team or the game.

I've always found the MW pretty harmless at football, rugby, and league games and even at he olympics. It usually dies down especially if the on field action hots up. Concur with Bob that the time we were disgusted by the MW was at a one day cricket game and the plastic beer cups weren't half full of beer either . . . My mate and I had our wives and kids with us . . . never again and never been to a cricket match since. I've noticed on TV in Oz that even after the ACB crackdown, the MW still goes on.

Swifty Yeh - let all the drunks & yobbos have free reign I just love having a full mug of beer thrown over me & my friends. Why let a bit of sport interfere with some streaking.

The mexican wave is quite rare in the UK, and when it happens it is just a bit of fun if things are getting tedious... in Oz it's a much darker thing... I was at Melbourne to see England play Aussie last year in the cricket... the barmy army had gone home, and the only England flag was ours... when the wave started, we and many others were pelted with bottles, food, and general debris. We were really covered in muck, a woman in a nearby row was knocked unconcious by a water bottle chucked, full, cap on, and a baby in front of us had to be evacuated as we made a tunnel to cover him and his mum... a cheer went up when an asian woman got hit by something as she tried to flee... in defence of aussies, several joined us in confronting the yobs we could get to, and the police removed over 200 people... but if the mexican wave is to be used as a cover for hooligans, it has to be banned and the hooligans banned too.

I reckon Guy Smiley has taken all you sucka's for a ride. What does he know about the Mexican Wave, he's only a game show host after all!

I saw it at Murryfield for Scots v NZ.. but it was a flogging. I am surprised it happened in Perth, I thought it was a cracker. but as for banning it? I think that will just make people think the ARU are a bunch of beer banning fuddy duddies, and the ACB already has that role.

Ahh the Australian way - ban anything you don't like when will you blokes realise that the off-field stuff is just as important when it comes to bringing in the punters as the on-field stuff. go watch rugby in france and see how much of a good time they have with drums and trumpets and mexican waves. this would have to be the most pretentious and prissy post of all time - zac are we nominating for that award yet? what would chopper say if he read this post? something along the lines of harden up and bloody well enjoy yourselves. on one hand you will all bemoan the lack of crowd numbers at rugby games but then here we all are having a go at the crowds for daring to have a good time. what the hell kind of message is that? 'hey everyone we know rugby has not done much for you spectators of late what with muppets for coaches, the disappearance of the ARC, pretty poor free-to-air coverage and, well, losing to England of all teams BUT we would love you to all come along to our games on the condition you sit quietly, don't interact with the people sitting next to you and never ever do anything to upset the true rugby supporters because after all this is all for them.' Actually that does sound like something the ARU would say. If this post is anything to go by it would seem the australian rugby public got the ARU it deserved.

The MW indicates people are bored. Full stop. If the action is happening on the field, there is no need for any in the stand. As most rugger games these days are boring stodgy affairs, you have your explanation.

Mart I went to 4 games at Twickenham last year, two tests, the GP final and the Baa-baas match. The only time I saw the Mexican wave was during the Baa-baas match when the large number of school children in the crowd of 50,000 got bored with a dire game of rugby. I have never heard music post scoring of a try for a 15 a side game at Twickenham, although it is sometimes a feature in 7 a side tournaments. At Lords on the rare occasions I have seen the Mexican Wave is during one day matches and they can be amusing as the MCC members in the pavilion will never take part and the crowd revs it up in an effort to encourage the members but normally to no avail. During RWC2003 at some of the matches it was a regular feature. In Townsville there were people spaced around the ground who when the game became attritional would start up the shout 1,,2,,,3 and attempt to start the Mexican wave, which I found very disrespectful to the Fijian and Japanese players.. Perhaps in the heart of NRL country they did not appreciate the finer points of rugby as there was an outline of rules of rugby in the programme!

Hey mate, get over it.

I notice the low numbers of cheers for this thread. Maybe the punters here are scared of getting one of those dreaded MW's started... :-)

"Why the hell are they called Mexican waves??? Do they actually originate from Mexico?" The wave itself didn't originate from this, but it got the name Mexican Wave at the 1986 World Cup (in, of course, Mexico). Can't remember doing a Mexican wave at a soccer game, and I've been to quite a few. I've done it a few times at the cricket. I remember there was a sequence of about thirty laps of Adelaide Oval when there were four maiden overs in a row during an Australia Day game a few years back.

You only really notice Mexican Waves when there is a capacity crowd at a Stadium, or close to capacity crowd. Therefore the bulk of NRL, A- League games and Super 14 games in Sydney they would go unnoticed, as the crowds are rarely at capacity. The second point that Millster makes is valid - an example I know of is the Tahs semi final this year, they got over 37,000 to the game and from my viewing on TV, there were no Mexican Waves. The games against France were not capacities in any event, but they were meaningless games really. Why the hell are they called Mexican waves??? Do they actually originate from Mexico? I would appreciate the input of the soccer posters here, but in the recent game v China were there any mexican waves? I remember seeing the closing stages, and there were quite a few people leaving.

I was at the first French test and was sitting next to the group who starting them and they were mainly teenagers or schoolkids. What amazed me was the dedication they put into it. If it failed there was a heckling shout went up and then another attempt. It seems that these kids were there to keep themselves entertained as opposed to watching the game. Still they managed a couple of circuits before it fell out. Start an advertising campaign immediately showing M-W's up as really stupid along with booing during kicks at goal.