Origins of Argos S#&\ !!

I was listening to the 5th quarter on CHML, when I heard some caller talk about the 'ancient' Argos XXXX!!, and how it is some '60 years old'.

I don't know about you, but I don't remember it that way.

As far as I remember, the origin of that 'chant' was from the 1981 Season......hardly 'Ancient'. The Argos that year won ONE game I believe......the media or someone put out a blue button that said ARGOS SXXX! On it, and it was an instant hit with Argo fans. Of course, Ticat Fans picked up on it, and started saying it, but ANCIENT? Come on....sheesh.

I might not be remembering this correctly, as memory is not an exact science, but I don't recall hearing it or saying it before 1981. That would make the 'forbidden chant' about 26 years old.

Argos were 2-14. They did indeed! LMAO :wink:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_CFL_season

Oski Wee Wee,

Willy, I don't know about 60 years old, but I remember hearing it a lot in the 70's and I'm pretty sure even in the 60's.

Wilf? I believe that this is your territory... lol

i think its hilarious how people proudly wear shirts and buttons with that little slogan on it as if it was the most clever thing ever. Cuz no one has ever said that another team sucked before.

I'm not 60 years old, so I can't comment on things back then, but here is what I do remember. The Argos were pretty bad for a while in the 80s. I don't remember the currently used Argooooos cheer much before that (I was born in the 60's so I can only speak for the '70s). From what I recall, this chant with the O part drawn out was a sarcastic cheer that was associated with playing poorly. It was ofter cheered by Argo fans as if to say, ya we know we aren't that good (and these days I think I know how they felt). I even remeber hearing this at Leaf games at that time when they were have a bad game.

Over time, when the Argos started playing better, this cheer somehow stuck, but for whatever reason it was no longer considered to be sarcastic.

After hearing this simple chant over and over, it did not take the Ti-Cat fans long to come up with the response that we are now familiar with. It was a simple short response to their long drawn out cheer, maybe a little crude at that time, but nevertheless considered to be a little humourous by many.

While some may not like this expression, because they feel the underlying meaning is crude, I think most who are living in this era where the bar of speaking offensive has been lowered considerably, really don't have a big issue with this expression.

Over time the T-Shirts and Buttons and other parphanalia were generated, as the cheer grew.

Anyhow, that's what I recall.

PJ

its not just football when we make fun of toronto.

The first time the expression "It sucks" was heard was on Saturday Night Live back in 1979 or 80. It was Eddie Murphy in a skit from Mr Rogers neighbourhood - the expression caught on and everyone was saying it.
Some guys at Ivor Wynne started saying "Argos Suck" -

Remember 1981?? the year of Frank Kush, the Ticats had a fantastic season 11 wins and lost in the playoffs to Ottawa who had only 5 wins that year.

As far as I can tell, and I've been going to games since the 70's, the chant was actually started as a 2 part collaboration between fans. The Toronto contingent would scream out their ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGos chant and the Hamilton faithful would finish the chant with flourish

“$ucks” an an expression of derision was already in full bloom before that (eg. “Disco $ucks” night at Comiskey Park in the summer of 1979, and the many, many t-shirts declaring “disco $ucks” that were prevalent in the mid-to-late 70’s).

I generally remember it arising via the “collaboration” route that NSK, Jonesie and argoconvert have outlined. And the original “argoooos” drawl dates back at least to the '50’s, so it is possible that its rejoinder dates back to the same period. I distinctly remember the now-forbidden chant in use at IWS during the mid-to-late 70’s, and many recall hearing it in the 60s.

Most dictionaries ascribe an Indo-European etymology to the term, meaning that use of the word “$uck” to express derision or contempt has been in place for centuries.

It’s cool how the origins are somewhat lost in the mists of time. And like another poster alluded to, the forbidden chant is simply the latest of many anti-Toronto epithets that have originated from Hamilton. More information here:

http://www.argos-suck.com/html/history.html

It was actually thousands of years. We did the research as a public service:

http://tinyurl.com/2dyfx5

It goes back to pre-historic times when the people that inhabited the disease infested swamps in Toronto were referred to as "The Pickering Culture". The wiser and tool using people at the Head of the Lake are know referred to as "The Princess Point Culture".

Wow, now that’s public service. Brought to you by your forbidden friends at www.argos-suck.com