Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi

"Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi", also spelt "Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie, Oy Oy Oy", is a cheer or chant often performed at Australian sport events. It is a variation of the Oggy Oggy Oggy chant used by both Soccer and rugby fans in Britain from the 1970s onwards. It is usually performed by a crowd, uniting together to cheer for their national sports team or athlete. The alternate is for an individual to chant the line "Aussie, Aussie Aussie!" and the crowd to respond with "Oi! Oi! Oi!".

Definition

The full version of the chant, as heard prior to a free outdoor concert at the time of the Sydney 2000 Olympics and quoted by Luba Vangelova of CNNSI, is as follows:-

Leader: "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!"

Crowd: "Oi! Oi! Oi!"

Leader: "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!"

Crowd: "Oi! Oi! Oi!"

Leader: "Aussie!"

Crowd: "Oi!"

Leader: "Aussie!"

Crowd: "Oi!"

Leader (much faster): "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!"

Crowd (equally fast): "Oi! Oi! Oi!"

The chant was widely used during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, being heard at many public entertainment venues and also on public transport.

The chant is now commonly heard at international sporting events in which Australian individuals or teams are competing. In some instances it has also been modified by Australians in support of another country's team. During a beach volleyball match between China and the USA in the 2000 Summer Olympics, the Australian audience chanted "China, China, China! Soy, Soy, Soy!" to demonstrate their support for the Chinese team against the USA.

Origins

A chant of similar form, "Oggy Oggy Oggy", has been used by football crowds in Britain for many years prior to "Aussie Aussie Aussie". Since the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the 'Aussie' variation has become a popular part of Australian culture. It has however been used much earlier, on the Sydney Cricket Ground 'Hill' at international cricket matches since the early 1970s.

Englishman Ron Knox claims to have used the "Oggy" chant while playing for the Box Hill Rugby Club in Melbourne in the late 1960s. Alternate versions of how it was introduced to Australia have also been claimed.

One theory that has emerged recently relates to a song "T.N.T.", which was released in 1975 by the popular Australian rock band AC/DC and contained the lyrics " Oi Oi Oi" in the chorus. The song is one of the most popular the band has released. The chorus could have been the beginning of the "Oi Oi Oi" chant.

Explanations of meaning

According to Stephen Alomes, a professor of Australian studies at Deakin University, the chant represents "enthusiasm for the tribe" and a "celebration of ‘us’", but at the extreme may act as a symbol of aggressive nationalism and xenophobia. During the 2005 Cronulla riots – a series of ethnically motivated confrontations in Sydney, New South Wales – mobs of drunken young men waving Australian flags were witnessed yelling the chant and attacking anyone suspected of having a Middle Eastern background. Similarly, in 2007 members of a crowd which had gathered to protest about a proposal to build a Muslim school in Camden in Sydney's far west were reported to have aggressively chanted the phrase in unison as part of an anti-Muslim tirade.

On Australia Day in 2009 at Manly, New South Wales, a large number of youths draped in Australian flags and covered in green and gold zinc were reported to have shouted the chant along with racial slurs whilst causing considerable property damage and injuries to some bystanders. Premier Nathan Rees responded that the use of the Australian symbols by the rioters in this incident was designed to "promote racism". In a similar incident on the same day at Burleigh Heads, Queensland, a large number of youths draped in Australian flags were witnessed yelling the chant whilst clashing with police and damaging property.

Some time earlier during an Anzac Day ceremony at Villers-Bretonneux in France, an event conducted for the solemn remembrance of the war dead, some Australians were witnessed climbing a tall tower and loudly yelling the chant to those standing below.

Commercial and publicity uses

In 2004, a Melbourne couple, inspired by a Dick Smith campaign supporting Australian-made products, registered the phrase as an official trademark in an effort to protect it from overseas exploitation.

The chant was used frequently at the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event to cheer on eventual champion Joe Hachem.

At the conclusion of the Prize giving ceremony for the Final of the 2008 Super 14 at AMI Stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand, the winning team, the Crusaders, chanted "Robbie Robbie Robbie Oi Oi Oi" to farewell their Coach Robbie Deans, who was leaving to coach the Australian national team, the Wallabies.

See also

• Oggy Oggy Oggy
• Aussie
• 2000 Summer Olympics