The Kiwi sports landscape has been hit with a storm that even Jim Hickey wouldn’t have seen coming.
Move over ‘Bring Back Buck’ and ‘Lets Gone Warriors’, there’s a new catchphrase in town that’s spreading faster than workplace gossip. If you haven’t guessed, it’s time to get on board with the one and only, the enigmatic, ‘Up the Wahs’. It’s the phrase that’s hotter than a petrol station mince pie, and it’s taking New Zealand and the world by storm.
The Warriors are on a roll like no other, having their best season in two decades. They’ve sealed a top-four finish with the kind of precision that would make a sheepdog proud. And what’s the icing on the cake? A double life after the regular season ends and guaranteed home finals game.
But it’s not just about the league. Alongside the Warriors’ triumphs, ‘Up the Wahs’ has been popping up everywhere like seagulls around a chip shop. It’s invaded classic Kiwi tunes, sprouted up on supermarket signs, and even found its way onto beer cans faster than you can say Dallin Watene-Zelezniak. Not to mention, the catchphrase has made its mark on some top-notch athletes. We’re talking NBA legend Steve Kerr, former Warriors fullback turned Brisbane Broncos superstar Reece Walsh and even the All Blacks.
But where did it come from? The Herald has thrown its investigative team headfirst into the bewildering world of Warriors fandom to uncover the truth behind the phenomenon.
Warriors fans during the round 24 match against Wests Tiger at FMG Stadium in Hamilton. Photo / Photosport
The Warriors Anonymous Facebook group, full of diehard fans, is divided like a game of two halves – some reckon it’s sourced from our Aussie neighbours calling them the ‘Wah Wahs’ back in the day to tease the team for a bit of whinging. Others believe that the halfback himself, Shaun Johnson, was the mastermind behind it.
There are sceptics too. The legendary Mad Butcher, Sir Peter Leitch, isn’t wild about the new chant.
“I’m not a big fan of it. I always tell people: ‘Let’s go Warriors’ because that’s our name, but I’m losing it. I was trying to fight it but it was like swimming against the current.”
The real plot twist comes from the Warriors’ own locker room. Wairangi Koopu of The Crowd Goes Wild played referee and asked some past and present players on whether they were repping ‘Up the Warriors’ or sticking with the traditional ‘Lets Gone Warriors’. The final score? 7-8 in favour of the former.
Superfan Gerard Cronin turned the catchphrase into a bona fide anthem. Imagine the Kiwi classic How Bizzare by OMC transformed into an ode to the Warriors, complete with shoutouts to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and our monstrous pack of forwards.
“A lot of people who don’t like the word [Wahs] still enjoy the song and people who are fans of other teams have gotten into the song as well,” Cronin told the Herald. “It really came out of nowhere ... something just clicked in my head.”
For him, the origins of ‘Up the Wahs’ were “a great mystery”. But Cronin thinks he first saw the phrase on Shaun Johnson’s social media.
The man behind retro jersey reseller NZ Jersey Hunter, Luca Bosch, also thought Johnson was one of the first people to use the expression ‘Up the Wahs’.
Bosch said the success of the team has been great for business: “Warriors jerseys are always in demand, but yeah it’s a lot trickier [at the moment] to get specific items now that so many people are looking. The 1995 away jersey, the white one made by Canterbury, that’s the one that everybody is after.”
The success of the Warriors captured the attention of the team at Good George Brewing who brought out a bandwagon ‘Up the Wahs’ lager. The first batch quickly sold out, and they’ve since brewed another.
The brewery’s head of marketing Damon Youdale said Good George knew the beer would be a winner but its popularity “even caught us by surprise”.
“On April Fools, we put out a post that we were putting in a bid to buy the Warriors and we were going to move them down to the Waikato. A few people fell for it and others understood it was a bit tongue in cheek. We could tell that our audience just loved the Warriors and I guess there were a few die-hard pans in the office as well. That kind of planted the seed and obviously, it’s been one of the best seasons in a long time.”
Fans show their support for their favourite NRL battlers. Photo / Photosport
Nathan Limm, the host of NZME’s Big League Podcast, said he was a bit late to the train on this one and while “some fans don’t like it” he thought it brilliant.
“You see it on social media at random events like festivals in Germany and stuff and Warriors jumpers at random sports events that have nothing to do with league. I think it’s hilarious and it creates a lot of pride in the club for people all over the world.
“I love it as a motto because it’s really easy to remember and everyone can jump on board. I’ve grown up watching the Warriors and feel like I’ve nearly always been let down so to see them being so consistent week in and week out, they’ve given the fans a huge amount of confidence.”
For those on the fence about ‘Up the Wahs’ and needing an excuse to get on board, former Kangaroos and NRL journeyman Willie Mason dislikes it so much he went on a foul-mouthed podcast tirade earlier in the season and his opinion might tip you over the edge.
“How long have they been called the Wahs for? ... I do not call them the Wahs ... It’s Warriors to me and that’s f***ing it,” he said. “Who the f*** are you talking about the Wahs?”
Starved of answers, not even the team at Google could provide anything definitive about search history for the term, although the success of the 2023 season has led to Google search interest in the Warriors reaching an all-time high in August. Top searches related to “Up the Wahs” were “Up the Wahs song” and “Up the Wahs socks”. Interestingly, the top region for searching “Up the Wahs” in the past two months was Manawatū-Whanganui, ahead of Wellington, Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury.
Ultimately, no one seems to know where “Up the Wahs” sprang from, but it might just be the best thing to happen since Sir Ernest Rutherford combined onion soup mix with reduced cream. One thing that can’t be denied is the pride the Kiwi sporting community is feeling in their team and the success they’re enjoying in 2023.
The catchphrase has secured a place in our hearts quicker than a Shaun Johnson break and whether you’re chanting it at the game, singing along to Cronin’s anthem, or cracking open a cold one with “Up the Wahs” on the label, one thing’s for sure: This rallying cry has us all behind the team.
Up the Wahs!
Luke Kirkness is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He previously covered consumer affairs for the Herald and was an assistant news director in the Bay of Plenty. He won Student Journalist of the Year in 2019.
