Go Jackets

Lore & Background

When the Blue Jackets arrived in Columbus as an expansion club for the 2000–01 season, the city had no professional hockey tradition to lean on. The franchise had to build its own mythology from scratch, and the fans responded with a chant that was deliberately simple, loud, and impossible to mishear in a packed arena. "Go Jackets" became the default call-and-response: a section would lead, the rest of the building would answer, and the rhythm would build until the glass vibrated. It required no melody, no instrument—just voices and the thud of feet on concrete.

Over the years the chant evolved into a broader cultural shorthand. It appears on scarves, painted on the walls of bars along High Street, chanted by kids at youth hockey rinks across Ohio, and shouted into phone speakers by supporters watching from home. It is less a song with verses and more a tribal signal: a way for strangers in a 19,000-seat arena to confirm they belong to the same group. In a city that had long been defined by baseball and football, those two words carved out a hockey identity that felt distinctly, stubbornly local.

The chant also carries the weight of the team's early struggles and later triumphs. Fans who were there through the rebuilding years, the first playoff runs, and the long stretches of near-misses all invoke "Go Jackets" with a particular emotional register. It is not a celebration of a single trophy; it is the sound of a community that chose hockey and refused to let go.

In Their Own Story

The arena lights dim to a low amber. The Zamboni has just finished its pass, and the ice gleams like poured glass under the spotlights. A few hundred fans still stand in the lower bowl, scarves draped over their shoulders, breath fogging in the cold air. Someone in the third row starts it—low, almost a murmur: "Go…" The word rolls outward. "JACKETS!" The response hits like a wave. Sticks tap the boards in time. A kid in an oversized jersey pumps his fists. The sound bounces off the glass, off the rafters, off the steel trusses overhead, and for eleven seconds the whole building is one voice. Then the players skate out, and the chant drops to a steady, rolling hum that will not stop until the final buzzer.

Reader's Guide

Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, is where "Go Jackets" lives. The building opened in 2000 to host the Blue Jackets' inaugural season, and from the first puck drop the crowd found its voice. The lower bowl, especially behind the net, is where the chant is loudest—fans pack in close, stand for the full two hours, and treat every faceoff like a local derby.

The tradition is deliberately low-barrier. You do not need to know the lyrics, the history, or the rules. You need to be in the building, and when the section leader calls it, you answer. That is the whole contract. It is why first-time visitors find themselves shouting a chant they learned thirty seconds ago, and why regulars who have attended hundreds of games still raise their voice as if it is the first.

Beyond the arena, the chant has seeped into Columbus's bar culture. Sports bars on High Street and in the Short North district project the game on screens, and the room becomes a smaller, rowdier version of the arena. Fans paint "Go Jackets" on their hands, pin it to laptops, and tattoo it on their forearms. It is less a slogan and more a civic identity: a way for a mid-size Ohio city to say, "We are a hockey town, and we chose it on purpose."

For supporters, the meaning is simple. You do not need a championship to justify the chant. You need a team, a city, and a willingness to be loud on a cold Tuesday night in February. That is enough.

Did You Know?

• The Columbus Blue Jackets entered the NHL as an expansion franchise for the 2000–01 season, making them one of the youngest teams in the league's history.
• Nationwide Arena, the team's home since 2000, was purpose-built to give Columbus a modern, dedicated hockey venue and became the anchor of the city's professional sports scene.
• The Blue Jackets' blue, red, and white color scheme and the "Jackets" name were chosen to reflect a bold, military-inspired identity that would be instantly recognizable on the ice.
• As an expansion team, the Blue Jackets had no established fan base in 2000; the "Go Jackets" chant and surrounding culture were built entirely from scratch by the city's supporters over the following seasons.