It was the first home game of the season for the University of Maryland football team. About 48,000 fans had crowded into Byrd Stadium to watch the Terrapins take on the University of Akron Zips. Inevitably, during a lull in what turned out to be a rather one-sided contest, the assembled spectators created their own entertainment. Several times, people seated near one end of the horseshoe-shaped stadium leaped to their feet with arms outstretched, then sat down again as a group, initiating a ragged wave of activity that propagated to the other end of the stadium.
From my seat high up in the stands near the middle of the horseshoe, I had an excellent view of each wave. At first, a few desultory efforts merely created small ripples that rapidly dissipated. Once the activity had the crowd’s undivided attention, however, the phenomenon became remarkably distinct. Several waves traveled the full length of the stadium and were convincing enough that I expected a reflection from the far wall at the end of the horseshoe (though it didn’t happen). It became clear to me that the best waves occur when spectators are paying far more attention to their neighbors than to the game.