“The operative and most commonly known part of Kent’s Composition goes ‘da da da da da da… CHARGE!'”

Yep, that’s right, Bobby Kent says he invented the “Charge” thing people do at stadiums. In fact, he copyrighted “Stadium Doo Dads” in 1981, and received $10,000 to $20,000 a year from the San Diego Chargers for its use, according to the suit.

Now he wants to really cash in, and is suing for proceeds from every sports team or stadium that has used the ditty.

– Gus Garcia-Roberts, Miami New Times.

This one comes via Josh B.: A man named Bobby Kent is suing ASCAP for selling the rights to the familiar “Charge!” riff, one of our most universal stadium rituals, without his permission.

Kent claims to have written the song for the San Diego Chargers in 1978. Can that possibly be true? It sounds like a classic fanfare of some sort, something that would date back to at least the 1920s. I always figured it was a horse-racing thing, though it is not perfectly bugle friendly.

I distinctly remember my brother teaching me to yell “charge” when prompted before I even went to a baseball game, so the cheer was institutionalized by the mid-1980s. Did it really spread that rapidly?