Olé, Olé, Olé

The Olé chant originated in Spain. The word "olé" is a Spanish interjection which is often associated with bullfighting. The word has also been associated with other sports since the 20th century.[1] In association football, "Olé" is believed to be first used in Brazil for Garrincha in 1958.[2] The word is typically chanted by a crowd for a team or player who made an exceptional performance.

The chant is used at various sporting events around the world. For example, the chant is used by the supporters of the Republic of Ireland national football team.[3][4] From 2018 onwards, following the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjær as manager, Manchester United fans began singing the chant frequently during matches. The chant is also used by fans of the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre, and the chant is frequently used by fans of the Welsh rugby union.[5][6]

"Olé, Olé, Olé (The Name of the Game)"
Single by The Fans
Released	1987
Genre	Pop
Label	ZYX Records
Songwriter(s)	Armath – Deja
Producer(s)	Roland Verlooven

In the 1950s, "Ole Ole Ole Ole" was first heard in American Television on the sitcom I Love Lucy. Dezi Arnaz used the chant during his song to Babalú-Ayé, an African deity. The song was written by Margarita Lecuona in 1939.[7]

In 1985, Hans Kusters, the head of Belgian music label Hans Kusters Music, asked music producer Roland Verlooven and singer Grand Jojo to "write a song for the Belgian football champs Anderlecht called “Anderlecht Champion”".[8] The song was composed by Armath and Deja, and recorded both in French and Dutch by the Belgian singer Grand Jojo. The song was released that year by Disques Vogue.[9] The following year, Vogue and Walter Capiau recorded another version called "E Viva Mexico", which introduced the chorus "Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé, We are the champions". This now represented support for the national Belgian team who did well during the World Cup in Mexico. Both versions of the song used a slightly different variation of the chant, which probably was also originated in Spain.

Tony Marshall sang a German cover in 1986 titled "Wir sind die Champions (olé, olé, olé)".

In 1987, Roland Verlooven produced an internationally popular version of the chant, "Olé, Olé, Olé (The Name of the Game)". This song was written by a musical group called "The Fans".[10] The song was released in Spain by label Discos Games, and in Germany by ZYX Records. The Japanese version sold 1 million records in Japan and received a gold record.

The chorus of the song is "Olé, olé, olé, we are the champions, we are the champions" but has been widely misheard all over the world as "Olé, olé, olé, we are the champs, we are the champs", fascinatingly losing a complete syllable and note of the song.

In 1988, the Czech songwriter František Ringo Čech wrote the Czech lyrics for the Olé, Olé, Olé (The Name of the Game) which was recorded as a music video and sung by choir of famous Czech football players, which included Antonín Panenka, František Veselý and others.[11]

In 1998, Chumbawamba recorded the hit "Top of the World (Olé, Olé, Olé)".

In 1999, the chant was used in the chorus of "¡Olé!" by the Bouncing Souls on their album Hopeless Romantic.

In 2009 the chant was recorded by Overtone and used in the 2009 film Invictus.

In 2014, Brazilian superstar Carlinhos Brown used the chant in a World Cup inspired song called Brasil Brasil.

The chant is sung frequently by the audience, composed mostly of youth and young adults, at the end of Hillsong Young & Free songs.

Coldplay uses the chant during the performance of their song God Put a Smile Upon Your Face in their Live in Buenos Aires album. The band also incorporates the chant into the song "Don Quixote (Spanish Rain)", which was played on the Viva La Vida Tour in Latin America in 2010.

In North America it first became synonymous with the Montreal Canadiens dynasty of the late 70's have used it and has been chanted by Canadian fans for decades since. In the United States, the chant has been used at American football games, and baseball games. New York Mets fans have adapted the chant from "olé" to "José" to cheer for José Reyes. Toronto Blue Jays fans similarly used the chant for José Bautista. Cleveland Indians fans use the chant for José Ramirez. Chicago White Sox fans used the chant for José Valentín in the early 2000s, and have now adapted it for José Abreu.

The chant is also common at WWE events taking place in Europe, Montreal or in the U.S. For example, the chant was heard at the April 8th, 2013 edition of WWE Raw at the Izod Center. The chant was also repeatedly heard throughout the May 4, 2015 telecast of WWE Raw that took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal,[12] as well as the April 30, 2018 telecast of WWE Raw that also emanated from the Bell Centre, when wrestler Seth Rollins, who was the WWE Intercontinental Champion at the time, was greeted by huge cheers and an Olé, Olé, Olé chant before thanking the crowd with “Merci beaucoup” (French for “thank you very much”).It was first heard in wrestling before WWE when Sami Zayn, wrestled in independents as El Generico used it as his intro music.[13]

Montreal-area born WWE star Sami Zayn led the Bell Centre crowd into singing the Olé, Olé, Olé chant during the April 15, 2019 episode of WWE Raw before eventually (kayfabe) turning his back on his hometown fans.[14] It is worth noting that Zayn previously wrestled in the independent circuits as El Generico, a masked luchador character, and he used the Bouncing Souls' "Olé!" as his entrance theme at the time. Fans would often do the chant during his matches, and the chants would follow him into the WWE as well.

During a WWE SmackDown house show at the Place Bell in Laval (a few miles north of Montreal), the fans did the Olé, Olé, Olé chant when Roman Reigns pulled out a hockey goalie stick from under the ring to use as a weapon during his Street Fight match with King Corbin.[15] It is worth noting that Place Bell is also the home arena of the AHL's Laval Rocket, the farm team of the Canadiens.

UFC Fighter Conor McGregor, who is of Irish descent. Often receives this shout during his fights.

In tennis, Argentinian player Juan Martin del Potro normally receives the chant during hard-fought points in a match.

The cheer is also widely used by supporters of college soccer in the United States. This led to the creation of a mascot at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which was named Olé.[16]

When the Wisconsin Badgers football team scores a field goal, fans often sing this chant for player Rafael Gaglianone, who is from Brazil.

A rendition of this song (With lyrics modified by Kemptville, Ontario-born Emily Seguin) was used frequently before games throughout OSU youth soccer leagues across Canada.

The chant was also commonly heard during celebrations for Toronto Raptors players after they had won the 2019 NBA Finals.[17] This marked the first ever NBA title for the team, the first NBA Finals to be held outside of the United States and the first Canadian team to hold an NBA title.

• Olé (sports newspaper)

• Anderlecht Champion at The Originals
• Ole, Allah and all Claim for the etymology of olé from Allaah (Allah, God) and lack of evidence
• Oley!! short film on Hudud Law