Sports cheers!? What is a “chant”?

Last updated:2024/8/7

Festival-loving girlImae Mizuki
I got totally hooked on BUMP OF CHICKEN after my best friend introduced them to me in junior high, and that’s when I woke up to music. In high school, a senior led me into the world of melodic hardcore, and I fell for it completely. Heavily influenced by the boyfriend I was dating back then, I’ve been a huge fan of 10-FEET from then until now. After graduating from my days as a hairstylist—spent staring down wigs every day—I now work staff for studios, live houses, and wedding sound, spending my days hunting for new bands. Despite being out at festivals and shows all year round, I’m still a hopeless kid who can’t even do a two-step.

Have you ever heard the word “chant”? If you like sports, you may have come across it.

This time, I’d like to explain what the word “chant” means.

What is a chant?

A chant is mainly something used to support players or your favorite team.Cheering methods used when supporting (a team or person)It is.

Cheering in rhythm is called a chant.

It’s quite a mainstream term in sports like soccer.

Like this,The songs that supporters (fans) sing are chants.It is.

There are often many different types of chants.

The chants used vary by team depending on the scene.

It seems there are chants in pro wrestling and baseball as well, but when I hear the word “chant,” what comes to mind is soccer, after all.

soccer chant

Chants exist in the J.League, in national team matches, for overseas teams, and even in high school soccer.

They sometimes turn other songs into parody versions to use as chants.

For example, I’m a supporter of the team Gamba Osaka, and the chant for Yasuhito Endo (Yatto), who is also called up to the Japan national team, is:THE BLUE HEARTSIt’s a parody version of “Linda Linda.”

Even in high school soccer, cheers are created based on J.League support styles, and recently,Live kidspopular withYabai T-Shirt ShopSometimes the band’s songs, such as “Gather! Party People” by [Name], are also used.

Etymology of “chant”

Chant is a word of Old French origin meaning a style of offering prayers with a fixed rhythm and melody.
In Japanese, it is generally translated as incantation or chant.
TranslationWikipedia

It is described as follows on Wikipedia.

The shouted slogans and fight songs that are repeated in unison are also called chants [citation needed].
TranslationWikipedia

It seems that cheers repeated under the lead of a call leader are called “chants.”

Lastly

This time I explained it using soccer as the main example, but there are also things that can be called chants in cheerleading, professional wrestling, and other sports.

It might be interesting if you focus on that next time you look.