The wave is much like the coordinated waves of spectators during sporting events, Mr. Zitterbart said.
"The fame of the man was reflected at the final whistle," wrote the great correspondent Geoffrey Green, "when his sturdy, almost squat frame disappeared under a wave of youthful spectators as they surged on to the pitch to engulf him in admiration".
In football, soccer and baseball, there is only the Wave, the sweeping mass of spectators rising in sequence around a stadium.
The TV cameras are pointed on them, while a small crowd of spectators wave flags in the bright early-morning sunshine.
The mayor, in a show of enthusiasm, climbed the rigging and waved to a crowd of spectators.
Thousands of spectators waved miniature white flags showing a unified Korean Peninsula as women's hockey teams from North and South Korea faced off at the Gangneung Hockey Centre, one of the venues of the 2018 Winter Olympics next month in South Korea.
Grant traveled the three-mile route on the back of a convertible, waving at the throng of spectators who lined the streets to celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the slain civil rights leader.
Of particular concern is the popemobile, which the Pope uses for motorcades, waving to spectators and onlookers along the way.
Other members of the Royal Family also appeared on the balcony to wave at the swelling crowds of spectators below.
Firefighter O'Connor found Billy and the others in the crowd of spectators, and waved.
