Pop Culture dictionary
Roll Tide
or Roll Tide Roll
What does Roll Tide mean?
Roll Tide is a phrase trademarked by the University of Alabama. It is a cheer used to rally fans of the college’s athletics teams, known as the Crimson Tide.
Where does Roll Tide come from?
The origin of Roll Tide as a rallying cry can be traced to the Alabama—or ‘Bama as it’s often abbreviated—football team. ‘Bama fans yell Roll Tide to encourage the team … not that they need encouraging because they’re pretty good at winning. The phrase is sometimes elongated by folks in Birmingham to “roll tide, roll.”
But Roll Tide is not limited to the gridiron, nor is it only meant as a rallying cry. Fans sometimes say “roll tide” or use the social media hashtag “#RollTide” to refer to carrying on, as a greeting to other fans, or as a means of showing excitement over something, be it related to ‘Bama athletics or to their own life.
Having a good day? You might tweet “Good morning, and #RollTide!”
Hoping the U of A women’s golf team (yes, women’s golf needs support too!) will go to nationals? You might tweet “Let’s go ‘Bama women’s golf! #RollTideRoll!”
Spot someone wearing some of the University of Alabama swag on the street? You might shout out a “Roll tide!”
Examples of Roll Tide
Who uses Roll Tide?
Roll Tide was trademarked by the University of Alabama and is used by the university as a website URL, as well as on t-shirts, hats, and other fan paraphernalia.
The phrase is used in “Yea Alabama,” the university’s fight song, which ends “Crimson Tide, Roll Tide, Roll Tide!”
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Roll Tide like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Roll Tide that will help our users expand their word mastery.