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Legend has it that on this day in 1981, professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson (pictured here) started the first audience wave during the ALCS game between his beloved Oakland A's and the New York Yankees. Whether you see his innovation as a fun-loving component of the live sports experience or an annoying bit of silliness without any link to the on-field competition, it's an enduring crowd ritual put on display at almost every sporting event.

In late August, the Guinness world record for largest wave was broken at the Bristol Speedway, when the crowd of 168,000 NASCAR fans was able to coordinate the feat (see the video below). Their accomplishment was truly a great tribute to Krazy George and the thousands of fans who stood up and raised their arms at the Oakland Colesium 27 years ago having no idea what the hell was going on.