Large crowds of people are impressive sights. Few things are as breathtaking as a sea of people in a picture. What is often forgotten in these images, however, is that large crowds are also associated with impressive amounts of volume. At sporting events, in particular, one will encounter a variety of sounds to assault the ears. There's the sounds coming from the players, the rowdy and drunk spectators, the arena organ, the hawkers, and the arena announcer. Often times it all seems very symphonic with the elegant rhythm that it all comes together.

One of the most interesting sounds is the rising edge of a unified "yeah!" This is most easily heard during a basketball game when the home team scores a huge basket under intense pressure. The crowd is silenced by the tension of the moment, but completely obliterates the silence when the basket is scored. The physical gestures include jumping to their feet, raising arms, and pumping fists. But also universal in the celebration is the "yeah" released simultaneously with each of the thousands of other cheering fans. It would be almost impossible to tell that the cheering began as a "yes" or "yeah" were it not for the rising edge of the shout.

Sporting crowds are impressive creatures. They live and breathe with the success of their team. A poor performance by the home team and the animal dies a slow and painful death. A boring performance and the crowd enters a state of self-amusement doing the "wave" around the stadium. But one thing that remains constant from between games, across sports, and nations the world over is the crowd's readiness to shout it's fierce battle cry when the outcome starts going the right way. The unified shout and common feeling of celebration works a mysterious magic on the soul.