In case you haven't heard the news, Barcelona fans were very happy when their team improbably cheated their way to an historic upset over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. So happy, in fact, that their reaction registered on a nearby seismometer.How do I know this? Because basically every fuckin' football outlet wrote about it. "Barcelona Celebrations at the Nou Camp After Historic Victory Over PSG Caused an EARTHQUAKE," shouted The Sun, for example. Or take The Mirror's headline, "Barcelona Celebrations Cause an EARTHQUAKE After Dramatic Champions League Comeback Against PSG," apparently adhering to a national style guide that mandates the word "earthquake" must be written in all-caps, all the time.This isn't the first time fans are supposed to have caused an earthquake. Seattle Seahawks supporters have set off a quake on several occasions, including after Marshawn Lynch's infamous Beast Mode run. Last year, Leicester fans apparently caused an earthquake after beating Norwich (of all teams) on their way to their miracle title win.I don't know much about earthquakes, but I've seen some photos. Whatever these fans might be doing to our precious planet seems a bit different to the events that tear motorways out of the ground.READ MORE: Unpacking The Logic Behind Calling a Footballer 'The New Thierry Henry'To find out more, I spoke with Jordi Diaz, senior research scientist at ICTJA, the research institution that registered the Barcelona "earthquake" last week. What, exactly, is going on here?Read more on VICE Sports.
Advertisement