Lit Up Fan Wave Rocks Seattle’s Lumen Field Before Metallica Show

If you were at the second Metallica concert Sunday night, you witnessed the first-ever Lit Up Wave in Seattle!

Seattle Fans Rock Lit Up Wave Waiting for Metallica to Start

Last Sunday, the crowd in Seattle was ready and itching for the second night of Metallica. About 40 minutes before the band took the stage, the crowd started the wave. My daughter and I were sitting in the Hawks Nest side of Lumen Field, and as it went around I told my daughter to grab her phone. I remember hearing about fans using their phones during the wave to “light it up” as it went around. We quickly explained it to the people around, and before you knew it the entire crowd had the wave lit from the field to the top row. I recorded video from both before and while the “lit up wave” was circling Lumen Field and you can watch it below.

As a Washingtonian sports fan, it’s hard not to feel a sense of pride when thinking about the wave and Seattle's history to it. While the wave, or “Mexican wave” as it’s known outside North America, gained global fame during the 1986 FIFA World Cup, its roots run deep in our very own city.

What is the Wave?

In case your not familiar or have never seen the wave (watch video below), it is where successive groups of spectators briefly stand and raise their arms and yell out, creating a wave-like effect that travels through the crowd and around stadiums. This impressive fan spectacle makes it look like the wave is moving across the arena with a loud roar.

Seattle's role in the history of the wave is both unique and significant. While Krazy George Henderson, a dynamic sports promoter, is often credited with popularizing the wave in the U.S., the roots of the phenomenon here in Seattle are just as compelling. Henderson’s early experiments with crowd engagement were groundbreaking for hockey or volleyball, but it was in Seattle that the wave truly took hold in full-size football stadiums.

On October 31, 1981, a historic moment occurred at Husky Stadium during a University of Washington football game against Stanford. The wave, already in other smaller sports venues, was embraced with enthusiasm by Seattle fans and helped to cement its place in stadium culture. This early adoption in Seattle not only showcased our city’s vibrant sports spirit but also contributed to the wave’s growing popularity at the time.

Henderson’s work in Colorado and California may have been a few weeks earlier, but Seattle’s contribution to the wave remains a proud chapter in our history. As we cheer on our Huskies, Seahawks, Mariners, and Sounders, remember to bring it back at games and celebrate the wave’s legacy and our role in making it a global sensation. And next time, remember to turn on your phone light as it goes by!

The wave before the lights...

The wave with lights...