The Arizona Wildcats have been doing the 'Haka' for years now. Led by many of the native Hawaiians on the roster, the Maori war chant is done in pre-game warmups as the Wildcats prepare for their game that day.
The athletic department and football program have an idea for the upcoming season: have the 10,000 ZonaZoo members do the Haka along with the football team.
Will it work? And what exactly is this war chant?
Here is the video showing UA students how the chant is done:
With thousands of students packed in along the sideline at Arizona Stadium, the Haka war cry could be really cool if everyone participates (and learns how to do it). As you can see by the video it will take some time to learn, but the team doing it on the field should be a good guide for those unfamiliar with the routine.
Rich Rodriguez said the team will perform the Haka in front of the Zoo near the 50-yard line as opposed to the end zone, as was done in previous years.
We'll see how it looks on Saturday night. No other schools -- or schools that I've seen, anyway -- do something like this, so the potential to create a cool and unique atmosphere is definitely there. The first few games might not exactly rival Wisconsin's student section before kickoff, but hey, it's the start of a new era in Tucson and this is a step in the right direction.