Raji video goes around the world

As of Monday afternoon, the Raji-inspired dance video had 74,452 views on our YouTube page. That’s more than four times the number of views for the previous record-holder, a video on the “Linothorax.” Viewers from as far away as Vietnam, Spain and Colombia have checked out UW-Green Bay doing ‘the Raji.’ According to an analysis by YouTube, 63% of the Raji video viewers are men. The most popular age group is 45-54 year olds. In case you haven’t checked it out yet, visit the original story.

UW-Green Bay dance, Chancellor Harden make ESPN’s SportsCenter
If you watched ESPN’s SportsCenter on Friday, you saw some familiar faces doing a familiar move. Chancellor Harden and several others on campus were seen, briefly, doing ‘the Raji’ as part of a Super Bowl preview story by Sal Paolantonio. Besides the story itself, the short snippet of the video was featured in several teases and in the show’s opening video.

Two thumbs up from B.J. Raji himself
So what does B.J. Raji think of it all? According to media reports, the man who started it all with an end zone dance in the NFC Championship game loves it. When asked by a reporter if he’d seen the dance video on the UW-Green Bay website, Raji replied, “”I did. I got a kick out of it. Pretty interesting it got out so quick. I didn’t know it would be such a big hit. Just goes to show the support you get from the Green Bay fans, it’s great to be a part of it.” For more click here and here.

The origins of ‘the Raji’
Contrary to popular wisdom, “the Raji” was not simply a spur of the moment dance. It turns out the dance was created two decades ago in B.J. Raji’s living room in Queens, N.Y. Along with that bit of trivia, an ESPN biography piece mentions how B.J.’s father is an African immigrant, and both of his parents Pentecostal ministers. Click here for the story.

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