"Y.M.C.A." (An Oral History)

Photo-illlustration by Sean McCabe

David Rinetti (vice president of stadium operations, Oakland A's): We wanted to do something cool to make the most of a terrible time. So we dressed two guys up as construction workers and sent them out to the construction site. Then we'd have two of our security guards go out there and pretend to tell them to stop making so much noise. Everyone [in the crowd] believed it -- then "Y.M.C.A." would come on and the four of them would break out into dance. One of our security guards was a guy named Icebox who played in the local roller-derby league. He was a huge man, and when he danced...

Robert "Icebox" Smith (Oakland Coliseum security guard): I tore that place up. The A's weren't so hot that year, but we brought that house down every single night. It was magical. We were on ESPN for weeks. It was a gay song?

Fans ate it up -- some even came dressed as the characters. Teams would host Village People Nights, capped off by postgame concerts -- often by the Village People themselves.

Dr. Costas Karageorghis (sports psychologist, London's Brunel University): When you think of using music to engage a crowd and increase cohesion, "Y.M.C.A." is the perfect track. It turns a group of individuals into a unit, just like the wave, simply because of a common action. I haven't heard it played at rugby, though -- probably too butch.

Kyle Smith (director of stadium operations, Brevard County Manatees): There are a handful of songs that just make you get up and dance. At our ballpark, "Y.M.C.A." has to be considered one of them. "Y.M.C.A." is a gaysong? Honestly, I had no clue.

Cameron Harris (Wally the Warthog mascot, Winston-Salem Warthogs): I'm the only mascot I know who does the whole Y-M-C-A hand gesture thing while standing on his head. As soon as the first beats come out of the speakers, everyone in the stands is asking, "Where's Wally? Where's that wild Wally?" Not sure what you mean about it being a gay song.... I know the Y is a healthy place to exercise.

Musto: All these years later, the gay subtext is gone, and it's a rah-rah crowd-pleaser for the baseball stadium crowd. It happens. A rallying song for the oppressed turns into a middle-of-the-road spirit-lifter, mainly because the straights like to steal things from the gays, take away all the scary edge, and make it their own.