8 Crazy Stadium Traditions You Have to See to Believe

By ScoreBig on November 16, 2014

Sports teams create families amongst their fans and, just like real families, they’ve got all sorts of crazy traditions that bring them closer and prove their loyalty. Be it a crazy dance, a united stance, or a whole stadium coming together to intimidate opposing players, once we grab sports tickets to go to the big game, we’re happy to show how devoted we are as fans through the ridiculous traditions we’ve come to know and love. Almost every team has some kind of fan tradition, but these are the most iconic ones across the United States.

Team: Green Bay Packers
Stadium: Lambeau Field
Tradition: The Lambeau Leap

NFL tickets make fans part of the action, so what better tradition to bring the players to the fans than the Lambeau Leap, where a Packer jumps into the end zone stands to celebrate their touchdown with the fans who love them most. While it’s only been around since LeRoy Butler started the tradition in 1993, it’s safe to say that Packers will be leaping at Lambeau until there is no more Lambeau.

Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Stadium: Raymond James Stadium
Tradition: Touchdown Cannons

Leaps are all well and good, but when your team is named after pirates, it only makes sense to celebrate each and every touchdown with cannons blasting from a pirate ship. The Bucs used the same company that makes some of Disney World’s props to create the replica pirate ship in Buccaneer Cove and those with Buccaneers tickets know that the more cannons that go off during the game, the more chance they have to win.

Team: Detroit Red Wings
Stadium: Joe Louis Arena
Tradition: Throwing Octopi on the Ice

In April of 1952, two brothers chucked an octopus onto the ice during a Red Wings game to symbolize the eight playoff wins it took (at the time) to capture the Stanley Cup. Over sixty years later, the practice continues and Detroit fans are happy to invest in some seafood to throw if it means extra wins for their Wings and a chance to buy NHL tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
Stadium: Chesapeake Energy Arena
Tradition: First Basket Stand-Off

If you’re a Thunder fan, you have to be light on your feet. That’s because nobody with Thunder tickets sits until the first basket is scored by the home team – whether that’s ten seconds or ten minutes. It’s a testament to the power of the crowd as over 18,000 fans standing in unison creates quite the impression of support.

Team: University of Wisconsin Football
Stadium: Camp Randall Stadium
Tradition: “Jump Around”

Since the ’90s, Badger fans have enjoyed the sweet, melodious sounds of House of Pain’s seminal classic “Jump Around” between the 3rd and 4th quarters of football games. True to the song’s name, 80,000+ fans use their Badgers tickets as entrance to the best dance around as they jump repeatedly until the song ends. What’s more magical than a dance number featuring a cast the size of a large suburb? A Badger victory.

Team: Florida State University (football)
Stadium: Doak Campbell Stadium
Tradition: Osceola’s Flaming Spear

The FSU Seminoles pay tribute to their Native American namesakes with Chief Osceola and his horse Renegade, the official mascots of the team, who ride onto the field before games and hurl a flaming spear into the fifty-yard line. There’s nothing that gets a Seminole crowd more fired up (literally), except maybe free FSU tickets.

Team: Chicago Cubs
Stadium: Wrigley Field
Tradition: Throwing Back Opponent Home Runs

Cubs fans may be stuck in over 100 years of World Series futility, but their sense of loyalty has never wavered. While some may say the 7th Inning Stretch at Wrigley is the tradition of note for Cubs ticket holders, the real gem has been a tradition in the bleachers for decades: when an opponent hits a home run, Cubs fans throw that ball right back onto the field like the garbage that it is.

Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Stadium: Miller Park
Tradition: Bernie’s Home Run Slide

The premise is simple: a Brewer hits a home run and mascot Bernie takes a turn down his slide. In the ’70s, the tradition was the perfect encapsulation of Milwaukee because Bernie’s slide took him right into a mug of beer. Nowadays, the mug is gone but Bernie’s still sliding on down to celebrate and anyone with Brewers tickets are taking care of the beer on their own.

Team: Duke Blue Devils
Stadium: Cameron Indoor Stadium
Tradition: Hands Up for Inbounds

The Cameron Crazies are notorious for a whole grab bag full of traditions, but perhaps the most iconic is the way they all seemingly grab for the opposing player during in-bounds plays. The fingers of Duke fans come within inches of their opponents while willing all sorts of bad vibes towards the players of the other team. When NCAA tickets let you harass the other team into turnovers, you know it’s going to be a good day.

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By Jason Kessler