Blue Jackets fans collectively shout “Leo!” upon hearing name of new pope

After hearing the announcement of the new pope last week - Pope Leo XIV - Columbus Blue Jackets fans responded in unison by shouting “Leo!” at the top of their lungs, according to multiple reports.

The collective reaction is being attributed to a tradition at Blue Jackets home games, in which fans shout “Leo” after National Anthem singer Leo Welsh is introduced by the public address announcer.

Hannah Murphy first learned of the new pontiff while furniture shopping in Reynoldsburg. “A television in the corner was tuned to coverage of the Vatican,” she said. “As soon as I heard the name ‘Pope Leo,’ I yelled ‘Leo’ as loud as I could. I slapped my hand across my mouth, but the word was already out. I couldn’t help it.”

A startled worker rushed over to check on the commotion and was relieved when Murphy explained what was going on, at which point the worker, too, let out a big “Leo.”

The Pavlovian response also took over workplaces. Ken Burke, who works the return desk at the Hilliard Target, explained that his coworkers huddled into the kitchenette when someone announced that the Catholic Church had selected its new leader.

“There were probably six or eight people crammed in there,” he said. “All but one of us threw our fists in the air and yelled ‘Leo’ as soon as the name appeared on the screen. One guy didn’t say anything and seemed really confused. He quickly yelled ‘Leo’ too, though, to fit in.”

Dana Villanueva, a clinical psychiatrist at Mount Carmel, said such a reaction is not surprising, considering how long fans have been yelling “Leo” at Columbus hockey games. “Over time, the call-and-response becomes automatic, and the subconscious brain takes over,” she said. “People can’t control it and sometimes don’t even know they’re doing it. For instance, had the pope, for whatever reason, taken the name ‘Leo H.,’ then I would have expected 90 percent of Central Ohio to respond ‘I-O!’”

The problem, Villanueva said, is that the tradition might be so ingrained that Jackets fans may never be able to turn it off. “That is, even after the novelty of the new pope’s name wanes, fans may continue shouting it every time they hear a reference to ‘Pope Leo,’” she said on speakerphone, prompting someone in the Battle Line office to shout “Leo.”

Case in point: A third of the congregation at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Westerville promptly yelled “Leo” during Sunday mass when asked to pray for the new papal leader. The news was a couple days old by that point, yet people still reacted the same way.

“We told everyone else that we were just overtaken by the Holy Spirit,” one congregant said. “But everyone who shouted knew the real reason, and we all high-fived after mass.”