As you might have guessed, the Harlem Shake is not actually going to be added to the Olympics, sorry for any confusion. But it might as well be with the dance craze taking the interests of our sport teams across the nation. From cheer leaders to basketball players to swim and dive, all the way to their favorite fans, everyone is doing the Harlem Shake.
The Louisville Men’s basketball team, University of Georgia Men’s swim and dive, University of Florida’s Cheer team, and the University of Pitt are just a couple of the schools to get involved. That’s not even including the schools with regular undergraduate videos jumping on the bandwagon. And none of this has even taken into consideration the celebrities getting involved.
So how does such an old dance gain so much attention? Social Media.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Harlem Shake at some point or another. It’s a shimmying of the shoulders and throwing of the arms back and forth while keeping them down by your side- with a lot of personal swag, of course. This dance alone, however, is not what’s generated this buzz.
Harlem Shake is the latest dub-step single of Baauer, a 22 yr. old DJ out of Brooklyn. Yes, a 22 yr. old dropped a single that is currently sweeping the nation. The sensational beat hit Youtube after a couple of guys decided to make a video dancing to the song. What you do is have one person, usually masked or something of the sort, dancing alone among lots of people ignoring him. Then, when the beat drops and you hear “do the harlem shake”, the video cuts and the room is filled with people doing the harlem shake. And now everyone is competing for the best video.
Why has it hit athletics so big? One answer, competition. Teams refuse to miss out on an opportunity to jump on a stunt like this. The real competition isn’t who will do it better, it’s who will get their video out first ahead of the curve.
The power of social media is unwavering. I’ve posted below a couple of my personal favorite sport videos of the newest trend. Among them, UGA Men’s swim and Dive underwater and the Louisville Men’s Basketball team who interrupts their coach to start the dance.
Happiness is a mindset 