Why are college football fans chanting "Let's Go Brandon?"

NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina

If you're paying attention to college football this year, you may have heard about a popular chant that's spreading across the country.

All across the U.S., but especially with the universities that play in the SEC, we've seen crowds chanting "Let's Go Brandon". There was even a banner hanging over the Jordan-Hare Stadium when Georgia and Auburn played on October 9 with the phrase that has now become famous.

Georgia vs. Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium
Georgia vs. Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium

What does this phrase mean and why are college football fans chanting it?

Let's Go Brandon is actually a political phrase for college football

Sports and politics often become intertwined, and that's exactly the case with the "Let's Go Brandon" chant.

Let's Go Brandon, in fact, is a chant against Joe Biden, the President of the United States. It went viral during a NASCAR race when NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast was interviewing driver Brandon Brown and the crowd was chanting "F*** Joe Biden!", but Stavast misheard the chant a little bit differently:

"Brandon, you also told me, as you can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s go, Brandon’, you told me you were gonna kinda hang back those first two stages and just watch and learn," Stavast told Brown to start the interview. "What did you learn that helped you in those closing laps?"

It was obviously an embarrassing moment for the reporter, and the chant quickly went viral on social media after the occurrence. Soon after, it grew over the entire country as a form of protest against Biden, and the restrictions in place in the U.S. because of vaccine mandates.

Let's Go Brandon becomes a popular chant in lots of college football games

Since the reporter caused confusion in early October, Let's Go Brandon has exploded inside the U.S., and college football is not far behind.

SEC colleges are located in states where the support for Donald Trump and the Republican Party is traditionally higher than the support for the Democratic Party. The Georgia-Auburn game, which happened in the state of Alabama, had a banner flying over with the phrase:

In another game, this time between Liberty and Middle Tennessee State, also saw the chant break out in the middle of the game:

Remember that Liberty is a Christian college, so it's not a surprise to see them choosing the cleaner version over the "f*** Joe Biden" original chant.

Sports and politics often get in the way of each other, and with college football back in full capacity this year, expect this to happen more often than not.

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Edited by Henno van Deventer
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