Houston Astros superfans debate merits of The Wave at Minute Maid Park

Fans do the wave in Keuchel's Korner during the Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles in the second of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, May 27, 2017, in Houston. Astros lead the series 1-0. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle ) less Fans do the wave in Keuchel's Korner during the Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles in the second of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, May 27, 2017, in Houston. Astros lead the series 1-0. ( ... more Photo: Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle Photo: Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Houston Astros superfans debate merits of The Wave at Minute Maid Park 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Imagine the perfect night out at Minute Maid Park. The boys in orange and blue are whooping up on a team, maybe the one from Arlington, and slugger Carlos Correa is up to bat with the bases loaded.

All is right in the world off of Texas Avenue.

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But then, the crowd begins doing The Wave, that cheer when the crowd jumps up, flails its collective arms, and yells "woooo" in a circle around the stadium.

It happens multiple times during a home game and sometimes at inopportune moments. The wave, it should be noted, is only to be done when the opposing team is up to bat. But at Minute Maid Park it's every few innings, to the disdain of a quickly growing sector of the team's

fan base.

.@astros fans: The wave at MMP? Good, kill it with fire, or don't care? — Gov. Craig Hlavaty (I-Texas) (@CraigHlavaty) June 19, 2018

According to a totally scientific study on Twitter it was discovered that more people than you think may not be on board with the group cheer. Matt Thomas, host of his own midday sports show on Sports Talk 790 AM, is one of those people and a very vocal hater of The Wave.

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"I am very much anti-wave. It was interesting in 1985 but no longer is in 2018," Thomas told Chron.com this week. "And worst yet, Astros' fans usually do it when the Astros are batting."

The Wave itself has disputed origins, with "Krazy" George Henderson claiming to have perfected it in October 1981 during an Oakland Athletics' playoff game against the Yankees. Fans of the University of Washington Huskies claim that the cheerleading squad made it happen a decade before Henderson, though.

For some Astros devotees, it's a depressing public act that we need to get used to from sheep masquerading as people.

Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle Houston Astros left fielder Marwin Gonzalez (9) bats with fans...

"The Wave is a necessary evil," James Yasko with popular Astros blog Astros County said this week. "Astros fans need to do it because there is a psychological aspect of a sense of belonging and a tribal mentality to doing something that 35,000 people are also doing. I think kids tend to do it more and, by extension, they badger their parents into doing it, too"

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Houstonian Michael Bell sees it as a positive part of the ballpark experience, along with the "Charge!" chant which is so popular in Houston.

"If I go with my kids it's fun," Bell said. "I'm for anything that requires paying attention. ...Plus it's one of those things the crowd starts, rather than something packaged by Major League Baseball. Fun for fun's sake has merits."

Meanwhile Thomas wants his listeners to start a vigilante group at home games called the "WaveBusters" to put a damper on the fan activity.

"We will all sit together at Astro games until we see fans (usually guys with mullets wearing jean shorts) starting The Wave. We will then send three to five WaveBusters over to that section and politely tell them to stop or simply wave our index fingers at them," Thomas said.

Ryan Tucker, 38, has been an Astros fan since he was a fetus. He finds The Wave to be detestable.

"It's never OK," Tucker said. "It's done by people who have no idea what what's going on in the game. It's not helpful and I'm sure the players hate it, too."

What should be done to stop fans from doing it? Revocation of season tickets? Loss of team store privileges? Maybe a public shaming from Orbit, the Astros' mascot alien, on the El Grande?

"I think the Astros should do a PSA shaming the people who start it and participate," Tucker said, pointing out that New York Mets ace Noah Syndergaard even hates The Wave.

Photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images OK, she can do the wave if she wants.

Other teams have tried banning it without any luck. Baseball being the superstitious game it is, The Wave holds a certain magic for die-hards. It's also indicative of fan unity.

Astros fan Brandon James has been pro-wave since 2009, crediting an Astros win that season with him and some friends starting The Wave at Minute Maid Park during a crucial point in a game.

"I'm pro-Wave 'til the death. It's as much a part of a ball game as the 7th inning stretch or singing 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game' for me," James said.

Astros team historian and authentication manager Mike Acosta, who attends every single home game as a part of his job, has never liked The Wave, in the Astrodome or at Minute Maid Park.

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"It certainly should not be done while the home team is on the field. If it absolutely has to be done, do it while the visiting pitcher is on the mound," Acosta sad. "I realize it's part of the fun for some and that's fine. It usually only pops up when there is a blowout game and maybe the crowd gets restless and needs to channel the energy."

He claims to have never taken part in any Wave.

"It doesn't really accomplish anything other than the joy of standing up with your fellow ballpark neighbors and yelling," Acosta said. "A stadium environment is also really the only place where society wouldn't think of these acts as strange."

Is there any instance where the wave can be done at Minute Maid Park? Matt Thomas will make one exception.

"Never," Thomas said. "OK, unless the Astros are down 10-0 in a game."

Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com.