“Ole, ole, ole, ole. Ole, ole.”

In the past, one may have heard the rhythmic Spanish chant at the World Cup or at a spirited European soccer bout, but probably not at Georgetown’s North Kehoe Field; that is no longer the case.

Maybe it’s the soccer team’s new coaching staff. aybe it’s the nice weather. Whatever it is, something has changed in the stands this season.

The crowds at weekend soccer games this year look more like those of World Cup events than of the relatively quiet previous seasons on North Kehoe Field. There has been an injection of European sensibility in the fans at the soccer games this season, thanks in no small part to the rhyming chants of one freshman.

Born in England, which he returns to every summer, Matt Hare (COL ’10) is what the Brits call a “football hooligan.”

The Leeds United fan has spent many a cold night in the bleachers of Elland Road Stadium chanting the songs that have become a tradition in England. When he came to Georgetown, he decided to teach the Americans a few things about football.

The term “football hooliganism” was originally penned by the British police in the 1950s when their country’s soccer fans became increasingly rowdy and violent. While it can have a negative connotation across the pond, the same is not true on the Hilltop.

The “Hoya Hooligans,” as they call themselves, are a division of Hoya Blue that focuses its time and vocal chords on men’s and women’s soccer games, and they have been out in full force this season.

“We’ve been able to muster up as many as 30 fans for weekday games and up to a couple hundred for the weekend games,” head Hoya hooligan Peter Keszler (COL ’09) says.

While the exact reason for the increased attendance by fans this season is unknown, Keszler says that Hare has been a “great asset to the [Hoya Hooligan] team” with his nonstop cheering and creative chants.

Hare’s history with Leeds United has helped him come up with some of the newest cheers to hit the stands. Hare has borrowed some cheers that are made specifically for Leeds United – notably the club’s theme song “Marching on Together,” which Hare sings during halftime and adapts for his American audience.

In other cases, he makes original cheers for Georgetown. For instance: “[Men’s Head Coach] Brian Wiese is magic/He wears a magic hat/And when he came to Georgetown he said he’d fancy that/He doesn’t work for UConn, cause northern football’s shite/He works for Georgetown Hoyas and we’re bloody dynamite.”

Like many cheers, some have been adapted from song lyrics, ranging from “Que Sera, Sera” and Christmas carols to “Yellow Submarine” and “You Are My Sunshine.”

Others are clearly intended for adult audiences. One popular example is, “Give me an S!/Give me an E!/Give me an X!/What’s that spell?/Sex! Sex! Sex!/What’s that mean? Score! Score! Score!”

“I can see how some families wouldn’t want to bring their kids for the sex chants, but for a 25-year-old like myself, it was entertaining,” Kelly Grimes (MED ’07) says. “The cheers should be for the students anyways.”

“Some of [the fans] know the chants, and if they don’t, we’ll teach them,” Hare says.

The players have taken notice of the fan support as well.

“He’s great; everything he says is quick and funny,” fifth-year women’s soccer co-captain Alexandra Hardy says of Hare. “He could say anything and you’ll laugh.”

Wiese thinks that the spirit that the fans bring to the game has instilled in his players “a spring in their step.”

“They understand the game,” Wiese says of the fans. “They provide an energy, and they get right into the other team. Suddenly [the opponents] are thinking about the crowd.”

Wiese found the Hooligans to be particularly influential during Georgetown’s 1-0 overtime victory over Syracuse on Sept. 8.

“The hooligans help you score. They make a big impact on the game,” Wiese says.

Coaches from other teams seem to enjoy the Hooligans’ antics as well. “I find even the other coaches, who are sometimes at the butt end of some of the jokes, chuckling to themselves,” women’s soccer Head Coach Dave Nolan says. “They get behind our team and trade barbs with the other teams, and everything is in good taste.”

Not only do the Hooligans make an impact on the game, but they do so without being overly inappropriate. “There are very few off color remarks,” Wiese says. “At the end of the day, people have to show restraint. The vast majority of coaches enjoy it. They say `What great fans you’ve got.'”

Despite the fact that both the men’s and women’s soccer teams have had losing seasons, the Hooligans’ support has remained consistently strong.

“They’ve been at every game, and it’s really nice when they know your name and support you when you’re doing well or when you’re doing bad,” Hardy says.

Saturday, at the men’s final home game, the Hooligans were out in full force, but after a game-winning goal in overtime by sophomore midfielder Corey Zeller, it was not a European tune or a British chant that got the last word. It was a jingle far more familiar on the Hilltop: “It’s been so long since last we met .”