Dancin' Homer - Cultural References

Cultural References

Homer's chants and his nickname "Dancin' Homer" is a reference to American baseball fan Wild Bill Hagy, who earned the nickname "The Roar from Thirty-Four" for his chants during the 1970s in section thirty-four at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Homer spells out Springfield just like Hagy spelled O-R-I-O-L-E-S with his arms. A drunk Homer performs his first dance to the 1961 tune "Baby Elephant Walk" written by Henry Mancini. Bleeding Gums Murphy makes a 26-minute long performance of the "Star-Spangled Banner" at the game where Homer performs his first dance. Homer's line, "Today, as I leave for Capital City, I consider myself the luckiest mascot on the face of the earth!" that he says in his farewell speech to the Springfield fans, is a reference to Lou Gehrig's farewell speech in the 1942 baseball film Pride of the Yankees. The song "Capital City" that Bennett sings over the closing credits is a parody of the 1980 song "New York, New York".