The Bouncy

The Bouncy or The Bouncy Bouncy[1] is a sports celebration which involves jumping up and down on the spot while chanting the word "bouncy"[2] or "Let's all do the bouncy"[3] over and over again. It is mainly done by fans of Scottish association football club Rangers, Australian club Brisbane Roar, Swazi team Eleven Men in Flight F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team.[4] The Bouncy was first performed in 1984 as a terrace song at Rangers' home ground Ibrox Stadium. In 1990, the then Rangers head of security, Alistair Hood jokingly suggested that Ibrox Stadium should have seatbelts installed to stop fans doing The Bouncy.[5] The action was brought to the attention of a wider audience when Rangers fans were seen doing it in the City of Manchester Stadium in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final against Zenit St Petersburg.[6] In recent times, the bouncy has become commonplace with fans of League of Ireland Side Limerick FC.

Safety concerns

Doing the Bouncy is not normally considered dangerous; however, in 2007 Rangers fans were warned not to do the Bouncy on the Glasgow Subway by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport owing to fears that doing it on-board might derail trains.[7] The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport said that it might close the Ibrox subway station on match days if fans did not stop doing The Bouncy on the trains.[1]

Controversy

In 2007 journalist Gerry McNee asserted in a News of the World article that The Bouncy referred to the murder of Robert Hamill in Northern Ireland in 1997.[8] The allegation precipitated complaints, mainly from the Rangers Supporters Trust which called McNee's story "a disgraceful slur" and called for him to publicly apologise.[5] The Rangers Supporters Trust also called for McNee and the News of the World to be banned from going to press conferences at Ibrox if the paper did not print an apology.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Fears 'bouncy' Rangers fans may cause major accident". The Scotsman. 16 October 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  2. "Fans' subway 'bouncy' warning". BBC News. 16 October 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  3. Jackson, Lyle (6 September 2006). "Sanchez salutes fans after NI win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  4. "Bouncy boys take Vaduz by storm". Belfast Telegraph. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  5. "RST Condemn McNee Slur". Rangers Supporters Trust. 26 February 2007. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  6. Lindsay, Clive (14 May 2008). "Zenit St Petersburg 2-0 Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  7. "Subway 'bouncy' warning to fans". BBC News. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  8. HighBeam
  9. "McNee takes flak over bad bounce MEDIAWATCH - page 2 | Sunday Herald, The Newspaper". Findarticles.com. 4 March 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
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